


Honey

by sidhe_faerie



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-23
Updated: 2015-08-23
Packaged: 2018-04-15 08:59:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 65,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4600809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sidhe_faerie/pseuds/sidhe_faerie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Felicity and her best friend Ginger go to party with some high rollers on a trip home to Las Vegas. Felicity and Oliver Queen get married as a prank but through a turn of events the marriage is legal. Oliver dies on the Gambit with his father before Felicity can tell him. Five years pass before Oliver comes home to a wife and a four year old daughter. Oliver has to make a choice to stay married to the girl he barely knows or walk away from her and his daughter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

It was midafternoon when Tommy Merlyn knocked on Oliver's bedroom door. “What are you doing sitting there brooding?”

“Didn't you hear? That's what I do best.” Oliver sat up on the bed.

Tommy shook his head. “Sounds like Laurel has been on your ass again.”

“She wants to move in together. I'm not thrilled about it.” Oliver said.

“That’s a huge step for the two of you. You need to really think about it. Why don't we take off for a while? Maybe go to Vegas and have some fun.” Tommy sat on the bed. “You can deal with Laurel when we get back. What do you say?”

“I say gas up the jet and let's go.” Oliver grinned. He needed a little fun and he needed to think.

Tommy laughed. “That was easier than I thought.”

Oliver laughed. “You know me, Tommy. I'm always ready for a good time.”

“Meet me in an hour at the airport where Dad keeps his jet. Bring lots of cash. Gambling will help you think. Scientific fact!” Tommy got up and headed for the door. He looked back and grinned. “Maybe you'll meet your future wife and Laurel won't get you as a roommate.”

Oliver grinned. “You know what they say. Anything can happen in Vegas. I'd better pack. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Tommy waved as he headed out the door.

Oliver needed to get away and think more than Tommy could ever guess, Laurel was pushing for them to move in and he just wasn’t ready.

Hell! He wasn’t even faithful to Laurel. Didn’t she know how many times he had cheated on her? She had to know. She wasn’t an idiot. Moving in together wasn’t going to make him settle down. Laurel had to be smart enough to know that.

-

Oliver was packed and heading out when he heard someone call his name. He was at the bottom of the stairs when he looked around. He came face to face with his dad.

“Oliver? Where are you going?” Robert Queen asked. He must have come from the den because he had files in his hand.

“I'm going to Vegas with Tommy for a week or two.” Oliver said.

“Have fun and stay out of trouble.” Robert nodded. “Don't lose too much money. You don't want to bankrupt the family.”

“Got it. See you soon.” Oliver waved as he went out the door.

Robert sighed as the door shut. “Those two are going to get in trouble I can just feel it.”

Moira came out of the front sitting room. “Robert, where was Oliver headed off to?”

“Vegas. He and Tommy are going to have some fun.” Robert sighed. “Has he said anything to you about why he’s in such a mood?”

“Laurel has been trying to get him to move in with her.” Moira said. “I don’t think he wants to. He is going to have to settle down someday. He might as well do it now.” 

“That will never work. He isn’t ready to settle down. If he moves in with her, it will be a disaster for both of them.” Robert said. “He and Tommy haven’t finished sowing their wild oats.”

“Do you men ever finish sowing your wild oats?” Moira gave Robert a pointed look.

Robert looked guilty. “Moira, he’s young. Let him have his fun and get it out of his system so he can find a nice girl and settle down when he’s ready.”

“Laurel is a nice girl. But I suppose as long as he is settles down soon it won’t matter who his ‘nice girl’ is. I just think she is the best choice. ” Moira looked at the door before going back into the sitting room.  

Robert groaned and went back to his den. He knew this wasn’t the last he would hear of this from Moira.   

- 

Tommy walked up with his bag on his shoulder to Oliver. Oliver was leaning against the wall of the hanger for the Merlyn’s jet at the airport.

“That was fast. You must really want to get away from Laurel.” Tommy teased.

“It’s not just Laurel but she is a big part of it.” Oliver said. “Tommy, have you ever felt like you needed to be do something drastic to get out of a rut?  I need to make a big change in my life. I’m in a really big rut.”

“Well, I like my life the way it is.” Tommy said. “Let’s get in the air. Maybe your restlessness will disappear once we put some distance between us and from Starling City.”

“I don’t think it can get any worse.” Oliver said as he picked up his duffle bag and followed Tommy to the plane.

Oliver spent most of the trip staring out the window and nursing a scotch.

Tommy was starting to get worried. He had never seen his best friend in life in such a dark place before. It didn’t bode well for Oliver. Tommy knew from experience that Oliver got himself in trouble when he was like this.

-

Felicity looked up as the door to her bedroom burst open. She sighed and looked back down at the laptop in front of her on the bed. “What do you want, Ginger?”  

Mari Ann Reynolds had been Felicity’s best friend since kindergarten. Most people called her ‘Ginger’ because she looked like the actress that had been on Gilligan’s Island.  She even had the beauty mark.

“Come on Felicity. We have two weeks before we have to go back to school.” Ginger bounced on Felicity's bed. “Lose the Goth and let's go party with some high rollers.”

Felicity sat on the bed and looked at her best friend who was looking expectantly at her. “I’m really not in the mood for fun.”

“You need fun. You have been stuck in this room since you came home for break. You need to see what’s going on in the rest of the world.” Ginger said.

“That was just yesterday and how do you know what I’ve been doing? You just got home too.” Felicity countered.

“Your mom called me.” Ginger said. “She thought you should get out of here. She’s worried about you. You can’t mourn Cooper forever. You are going to have to move on.”

“You don’t understand. He took the blame for me and now he’s dead.” Felicity sighed. She wiped a tear from her eye and looked down at the laptop. “It’s my fault.”  

“No its not. He decided to kill himself. That’s on him not on you.” Ginger said. “Come on. Let’s get all dressed up and find some high rollers to party with.”

“That’s easier said than done.” Felicity said. “I don't have anything non-Goth. Wait! You make fun of high rollers all the time. Why do you suddenly want to party with one of them?”

“Because we are going to be adults soon and I want to do one crazy thing before I die.” Ginger pushed her long red hair off her shoulders. “You need to do it too. All you do is study. I bet your studying now. Let me see the laptop.”

“No.” Felicity moved her lap top out of Mari Ann's reach. “I'm working on a personal project.”

“Please tell me it has nothing to do with Cooper. You need to put him behind you. He’s dead. You’re not.” Ginger squinted her green eyes at Felicity. “You’re lucky he didn’t get you in trouble, you know. He could have. Be happy for that at least.”

Felicity shrugged and looked at the laptop on the bed. She closed it. “Okay! Fine! Let's do this but I still have nothing to wear. Everything I have is black.”

“You could wear one of your Mom's dresses.” Ginger suggested. “She’s got a lot of cool dresses.”

“Ugh No.” Felicity made a disgusted look. “They wouldn't fit anyway. She has those boobs. I don’t have those boobs. No one has those boobs.”

Ginger laughed. “Right. Let's go to my place and we find something for you. Just bring your I.D. so we can get in all the good places.”

“You mean the fake one that Mom gave me?” Felicity said with a grin. “Why don’t I just bring both? You know, just in case we get arrested.”

“Good idea.” Ginger laughed. She grabbed Felicity by the hand and pulled her off the bed and out the door.

“Ginger, we aren’t going to get arrested, right?” Felicity asked as Ginger dragged her through the apartment to the front door.

“I have no idea. Wouldn’t that be cool?” Mari Ann laughed. “God! I hope I take a good mug shot.”  

“No. That would not be ‘cool’ at all. I’m up for fun but not getting arrested.” Felicity said as she grabbed her purse by the front door. 

-

Ginger drove them back to her apartment and started to go through her closet full of dresses. Most of them were from consignment stores. There was nothing that Ginger liked better than a designer label at a bargain price.  

Ginger finally found a dress in her closet that Felicity didn’t completely object to. The blue low cut short skirted dress fit Felicity perfectly.

“There! Now let me do your hair and makeup.” Ginger said. “I will get you back to normal in no time.”

“What is wrong with my hair and makeup?” Felicity asked. “And what do you mean ‘back to normal’? I’m normal.”

“You’re a genius zombie.” Ginger said seriously. “Is that even a thing? Well, it should be. That is what you are. You’re all Goth and scary smart. Genius zombie! I’m calling it a thing.”

“It’s not a thing.” Felicity sighed. “Zombies eat brains. They don’t have them. If they did, they wouldn’t eat brains. They would be vegetarians. Cause eating brains is just … EW!”

Ginger looked exasperated at Felicity. “Seriously? You’ve actually thought about that, didn’t you? Why am I surprised?”

Felicity wrinkled her nose and shrugged. “Well … Maybe once.”

“Oh my God, Felicity!” Ginger rolled her eyes. “Go wash your face and we can get started on your makeup.”

Felicity got off the bed. “You are not going to make me look like a hooker, are you?”

“Of course not! I’m just going to make you not look like a genius zombie. You know … normal.” Ginger called out after her.

“Still not a thing!” Felicity said from the bathroom.

“Oh yes it is and you’re the queen.” Ginger said to herself.

-

Thirty minutes later, Ginger and Felicity were in the ladies room of the Grand checking their makeup before going out into the lounge.

Felicity looked in the ladies room mirror at the tight blue dress. “This dress makes my butt look huge. Why did I let you talk me into this?”

Ginger rolled her eyes. “You look great. Let's get out of here and find some high rollers.”

“Fine! For the record, I still think this is a bad idea.” Felicity said as she swiped the tinted cherry lip gloss over her lips.

Ginger pulled her by the hand out of the ladies room.

“Oh!” Ginger ran right into Tommy Merlyn. “Sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going.”

Tommy looked the sultry red head and grinned. “You can run into me anytime you want. What's your name?”

Ginger smiled. “I'm Ginger and this is....”

“Honey. You can call me ‘Honey’.” Felicity said.

Tommy smiled at the brunette but his eyes went back to Ginger 's cleavage. “I'm Tommy and this is Oliver.”

Oliver Queen smiled at Felicity. “We were just going for a drink. Would you like to join us?”

Ginger looked at Tommy then at Oliver. She looped her arm around Tommy's. “We would love to. Where are you from?”

“Starling City.” Tommy answered. “Are you from here?”

“Yeah. We grew up here but we have both been away for a while. We could show you two around.” Ginger started to walk Tommy to the bar.

Felicity smiled shyly at Oliver when he offered her his arm.

Oliver leaned over and whispered. “You're very pretty, Honey.”

“Thanks.” Felicity blushed. “Is your friend always that obvious?”

“Yeah. Is yours?” Oliver grinned.

“Oh God! Yes and she gets worse with alcohol.” Felicity put her hand over her mouth.

“So does he.” Oliver chuckled. “Just stick with me. I'll protect you.”

Felicity looked up into the bluest eyes she had ever seen. “Uh huh.”

Tommy and Ginger had found a booth in a private corner of the bar. Oliver and Felicity sat down on the other side.

“Champagne?” Tommy said as the server came over. “We will take a bottle of Cristal and keep them coming.”

The server nodded and went to get the champagne.

“What do you do for fun around here?” Oliver asked. “Raves? Clubs?”

“We go to clubs mostly.” Ginger told them. She looked at Felicity. “The police shut down the latest rave circuit. Do you want to go dancing?”

“I don't dance.” Oliver said.

“We could go to a casino. Do you like to gamble?” Felicity asked.

“I do.” Tommy's dimples appeared. “Would you be my good luck charm, Ginger?”

“I would love to blow on your dice.” Ginger said with a seductive smile.

Oliver laughed.

Felicity looked into her glass. “Really? Just his dice?”

Ginger shot her a glare.

Tommy got a mischievous look on his face. “You know, my friend, Oliver is looking for a wife. What do you think Oliver?”

“Tommy. Shut up.” Oliver said. He couldn’t believe Tommy was even going there.

“Come on Ollie. We talked about it. If you find have wife, you don't have to be a roommate.” Tommy grinned.

“But wouldn't that make your wife your roommate?” Felicity asked.

“Don't listen to her. She’s a genius. She goes to MIT.” Ginger was starting to slur her words.

“Beauty and Brains. Sounds like she's your type.” Tommy said. “She’d be the perfect wife for you.”

“It sounds like she's smart enough to not take anything you say seriously.” Oliver filled Felicity's glass again.

“He's hot. You should marry him.” Ginger held out her glass for more champagne.

“Oliver has a girl back home. She is apartment hunting this very minute. She’s been trying to get him to marry her.” Tommy said. “He doesn’t want to and she’s relentless. She’ll wear him down eventually. She can’t marry him, if he’s already married.”

“Tommy’s not going to let it go. What do you say, Honey? Will you marry me?” Oliver leaned over and whispered. “It doesn't have to be legal. We could just do it for fun.”

“Sure why not? But I pick the chapel.” Felicity said as she clinked her glass with his.

“Hey Honey, why don’t we go powder our noses?” Ginger said. She stood up and wobbled a little. She grabbed Felicity by the hand and tugged.

“We’ll be right back.” Felicity got up and went with Ginger into the ladies room.

Ginger shut the door and checked to make sure they were alone. She locked the door. “What the hell, Felicity? Have you lost your mind or are you drunk?”

“You said to marry him and I do need to have some fun.” Felicity looked in the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were bright. “It doesn’t have to be legal. We can do it just for fun.”

“What are you going to do when he wants a wedding night?” Ginger asked. “Are you going to sleep with him?”

“He is hot.” Felicity shrugged.

“Now I know you’re drunk.” Ginger said. “We can slip out the service entrance now and I can have you home before your mom gets off her shift.”

“You were the one that wanted to do something crazy. So now I want to do something crazy too. Let’s go before they change their minds.” Felicity unlocked the door and walked out.

“This is a bad idea. I just know it.”  Ginger said to herself before she followed Felicity out the door.

At the table, Tommy looked at Oliver with a concerned face. “Man, you did not just ask that girl to marry you. You don’t even know her. She could be an ax murderer.”

“Hell Tommy! You started it. It will be for fun. I’ll show Laurel some pictures and she’ll dump me. Problem solved.” Oliver downed the champagne in his glass. “Come on Tommy, be my best man.”

“I wasn’t being serious. This is going to blow up in your face, Oliver.” Tommy said. “Is there any way I can talk you out of this?”

Oliver shook his head. “Nope.”

“Hi! We’re back.” Felicity slipped back in to her seat.

Ginger glared at Felicity as she sat down. She looked at Tommy. He didn’t look too happy either.  

“So Honey, what chapel do you want to go to?” Oliver asked.

“There’s a little chapel off the Strip. It’s called Rose Chapel. It’s full of roses and there’s an old couple that runs it. He’s a minister and she handles the business.” Felicity looked up at Oliver. “I have always wanted to get married there.”

Ginger choked on her champagne. She looked at Felicity “You’re kidding? But I thought…”

Felicity shrugged. “This may be the only wedding I get. I want to do it at Rose Chapel.”

“Then we should go to Rose Chapel.” Oliver said. He leaned over and kissed her.

It was a soft chaste kiss but it made Felicity tingle everywhere. She reached up and caressed his cheek. “Thanks.”

Ginger nudged Tommy. She whispered. “Are you okay with this?”

“I tried to talk him out of it but it didn’t work. What about you? Are you going along with this?” Tommy asked in a whisper.

“I tried to talk her out of it too but she wouldn’t budge. I guess we should just help them if they aren’t going to change their minds.” Ginger said.        

“I guess so.” Tommy said as he watched Oliver and Felicity stare into each other’s eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Twenty minutes later, Felicity led them down to the quiet street to Rose Chapel. “This is the place where I want to get married. I’ve dreamed of it since I was a little girl.”

Oliver smiled and looked around the old chapel as they entered. “It’s the perfect place.”

Tommy handed Oliver a brochure. “They have different plans. What do you think?”

Oliver looked at the brochure and handed it back to Tommy. “I know what I want.”

“May I help you?” An elderly lady came out of a door down the hallway.

“We want the deluxe package.” Oliver put his arm around Felicity and smiled. “I want her to have everything.”

“Come with me. We have some things to fill out.” The lady motioned them into the office that she had come out of. The four of them followed her. “I’m Carol.”

“I need to see your I.D.’s and you need to fill this out.” Carol handed them a form. “You can sit over there.”

Oliver pulled out his driver’s license and handed it to the woman and took the clipboard she offered. He sat down on the sofa.

Felicity handed the woman her real driver’s license and sat down next to Oliver. Her fake I.D. had a different name on it.

Tommy and Ginger stood by the door and watched their friends fill out the paperwork.

They filled out the form by taking turns writing. When they were done, Oliver handed it back to Carol. She looked it over and nodded then handed back their I.D.’s.

“I need your credit card then I’ll go tell the minister that you’re ready.” Carol winked. “That’s my husband. I’ll be right back.”

Oliver handed her a credit card and watched Carol leave the room. He held out his hand to Felicity. He smiled when she took it and gave her hand a squeeze. “Nervous?”

“No. Thank you. They may not be alive when I eventually get around to doing it for real.” Felicity said. “My cousin was married here and I thought it was so romantic with all the roses.”

“I’m glad I made your dream come true.” Oliver said with a smile.

Ginger pulled her to the side. “Honey, let me check your makeup.”

Felicity went to the corner with her. “What is it now?”

“Isn’t this the place you were going to marry Cooper after you graduated?” Ginger whispered

“I’ve wanted to get married here before Cooper and I were together. Don’t you remember?” Felicity whispered back. She looked over at Oliver. “Just go along with this, please.”

“Do I have a choice?” Ginger asked.

“No you don’t. I like him and I’m doing this.” Felicity said.

Ginger sighed. She knew that tone. Felicity was determined to do this no matter what. 

Carol came back and gave Oliver his credit card back. She handed Felicity a bouquet of red roses. “He’s ready when you are. Follow me.”

Oliver and Felicity went back out to the foyer with Tommy and Ginger.

“I suppose these are your witnesses. I almost forgot but I need to see your witnesses’ I.D.’s too.” Carol said. “I’m going to need your signatures on this form too.”

Tommy and Ginger handed over their licenses and signed where the woman pointed on the form.

A pudgy man came out wearing a minister’s collar and smiled at them. “Hello! Where is the happy couple?”

Oliver smiled and put his arm around Felicity. “That would be us.”

“Come on into the chapel and we will get the show on the road. I’m Fred, by the way.” The man smiled and opened the double doors of the chapel. It was filled with bouquets of roses.

“I love it.” Oliver whispered in Felicity ear.

“You two stand over there. Groom stands here and the bride stands here. Ready?” The minister asked.

“Yes.” Felicity said as she took Oliver’s hand.

Carol stood in the back to take pictures.

The minister cleared his throat. “Dearly beloved, we are here in front of these witnesses to join this man and this woman in matrimony.” Fred looked at the form. “Oliver, do you take this woman to be your wife, to have and hold her in sickness and health, richer or poorer for as long as you both shall live?”

“I do.” Oliver said with a smile.

The minister looked at the form again. “Felicity, do you take this man to be your husband, to have and hold him in sickness and health, richer or poorer for as long as you both shall live?”

“I do.” Felicity said.

The minister looked around. “Any objections?”

Tommy and Ginger shook their heads.

“Good. I hate it when there’re objections. Rings? Oh right I have them.” The minister grinned. He opened a box next to the altar with plain gold bands. “Help your selves.”

Oliver took a ring. Felicity picked up another and they switched them.

“Okay. Oliver you’re first. Repeat after me. ‘With this ring, I thee wed’.” Fred said.

Oliver put the ring on Felicity. “With this ring, I thee wed.”

“Now you Felicity. ‘With this ring, I thee wed’.” Fred prompted.

Felicity put the ring on Oliver’s finger. “With this ring, I thee wed.” 

“There is just one more thing.” The minister said. “With the powers invested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife. Don’t stand there! Kiss her.”

Oliver leaned over and kissed Felicity softly and gently. She leaned into him and it lasted a lot longer than either one of the expected.

Oliver pulled back and put his hands on her hips to steady her. He grinned at her. “Hi Wife.”

“Hi Husband.” Felicity said as she looked up at him with a look of wonder.

“Come this way!” Carol called out to them. “We have cake and champagne. Oh and we are going to take more pictures.”

Carol led them to a small room where there was a small wedding cake and champagne on ice. “Here you are. Would you like to cut the cake first or toast to each other?”

“Cake.” Felicity said. She looked up at Oliver and he nodded.

“Wise choice to let her make the decisions from now on.” Carol teased.

Oliver looked at Tommy and chuckled.

They went over to the cake and held hands as they cut the first slice. Oliver fed a bite to Felicity and she fed him. The camera was snapping pictures the whole time. Felicity put her hands on his shoulders and she pulled him down for a kiss.

Icing and yellow cake made the kiss sweet and they lingered at it.

Tommy cleared his throat. “Are we getting any cake?”

Oliver broke the kiss and glared at Tommy. “Maybe.”

“Oh I almost forgot. Your package includes a week in a honeymoon suite.” The woman told them as she took a voucher out of her pocket and handed it to them. “It’s good for the Paris or the Hilton.”

“Thanks.” Felicity smiled as she took it from her. She looked up at Oliver. “Honeymoon in Paris?”

Oliver looked at the voucher in her hand and whispered in her ear. “We don’t have to use it.”

Felicity looked up at him. She turned and put her arms around his neck. She hugged him and whispered in his ear. “I want to use it. With you.”

Oliver buried his face in her neck and pulled her close to him. There was something about this girl that made him think that maybe just maybe he could have a life with her. He knew this was all just for fun but he almost wanted it to be real.

“Toast anyone?” Tommy held his glass up in the air.

Oliver raised his head and glared at Tommy. He straightened up as Felicity’s hands slid down his chest from his shoulders.

Felicity turned and giggled. “Who says ‘no’ to champagne? Especially on their wedding day.”

Oliver picked up the two glasses on the table and held one out to her. Felicity took it and they linked arms to toast.

“To us.” Oliver said.

“To us.” Felicity said.

They took a sip and then untangled to kiss again.

Tommy and Ginger looked at each other. Then back at Oliver and Felicity. Their friends were actually acting like a couple who were madly in love with each other.

Oliver sat down in one of the plush chairs in the room and pulled Felicity down on his lap. He pulled her close against him.

“Was the wedding everything that you hoped for?” Oliver asked.

“Yes. It was perfect.” Felicity smiled and sipped her champagne.

“Are you two going to actually use the honeymoon suite?” Ginger asked.

“My wife wants to so we are.” Oliver said with a grin. “You heard Carol. Honey makes all the decisions now.”

“That’s right, Mister! You know, we’re going have room service, champagne, and some movies on demand.” Felicity smiled at Oliver. She looked at Tommy and Ginger. “We’ll have our kind of fun and you and Tommy can go gamble.”

“That sounds like a great plan. What do you think, Ginger?” Tommy grinned.

“You’re going to need to go get some things from your mom’s if you’re staying for a week.” Ginger reminded her.

“I will tomorrow. I’ll go while she’s at work.” Felicity said.

“What do you say you and I go check out our suite?” Oliver said.

“I think that’s a good idea.” Felicity let Oliver help her stand up. She picked up her bouquet and tossed it at Ginger.

“Thanks.” Ginger looked at the bouquet like it was a dangerous animal. “I think.”

“That means she’s the next girl to get married, Tommy.” Felicity giggled.

Oliver laughed. “Need some witnesses?”

Tommy and Ginger looked at each other and shook their heads. They looked at Oliver and Felicity like they were crazy.

“Don’t thinks so, Buddy. I have some money to lose.” Tommy said as he stood up and offered Ginger his arm. “With me Ginger?”

“Yeah.” Ginger stood up and put her arm around Tommy’s      

The two couples left the chapel and parted ways. Oliver and Felicity were quiet as they walked toward the Paris hotel.

“Hey, you were great to go along with this.” Oliver said. He reached over and took her hand.

“I like you.” Felicity said. “You have that broody thing going on. Besides I don’t have anything else to do.”

“If you would rather go gamble, we could catch up with your friend and Tommy.” Oliver offered.

“No. Gambling isn’t any fun for me.” Felicity looked up at him. “I just want to have a nice time with a great guy. Do you know any great guys?”

“Not a one.” Oliver teased her back.

They both laughed as they walked along.

When they got to the Paris hotel, Oliver talked the manager into giving them an extra week in the honeymoon suite. He got the key card and he and Felicity went up to the room.     

Felicity giggled as the elevator doors opened. “I haven't been up her before. I was a maid for a while at the Grand. I did it to make money for school.”

“MIT right?” Oliver asked. He looked at the key card. He pointed to a room. “It’s this one. Come here.”

“Huh?” Felicity was confused.

“I'm going to carry you over the threshold.” Oliver grinned.

“Why?” Felicity blinked at him.

“Because it’s our honeymoon and that's what you do.” Oliver grinned. He opened the door of the honeymoon suite. He held out his arms. “Let's do this!”

“Um … okay.” Felicity said.

Oliver picked her up and pushed the door with his shoulder.

Felicity giggled and held on to his shoulders. She buried her face in his neck. “Oh!”

Oliver kicked the door closed and walked to the bed. He gently set Felicity down on the bed. He sat down on the bed next to her.

“Now what do we do?” Felicity asked.

Oliver looked around. He saw a bottle of champagne in ice. “I think champagne then maybe some room service.”

“Oh!” Felicity bit her lip. “I though ... maybe.”

Oliver looked at her. “Maybe what?”

“Never mind.” Felicity shook her head. She put her head down and closed her eyes.

“Tell me. I'm your husband.” Oliver gently cupped her face and waited for her to look at him. “You should tell me everything.”

Felicity looked at him. “I just thought we would ... you know. Have ... um ... sex.”

Oliver blinked. He pulled away his hands. “I didn't think you would want to ... have sex ... with me.”

“Why would you think I wouldn't?” Felicity reached out and put her hand on his chest. She pulled her hand away and folded her hands in her lap. She looked down at her hands. “I guess you don't want to be with me.”

“I don't want to take advantage of you.” Oliver said. “Champagne?”

“In a minute.” Felicity reached out and pulled him by the shoulders closer to her. She kissed him.

Oliver put his hand on the inside of her thigh just above her knee.

She ran her hand down his arm and put her hand on his. She moved his hand up higher on her thigh.

Oliver pulled back from the kiss. He looked down at their hands. “I don't want you think that having sex with you is all I wanted. I came here to Las Vegas do some thinking.”

“About that girl back home?” Felicity let go of his hand.

“Yeah and some other things.” Oliver pulled his hand away.

“What other things? Maybe I can help.” Felicity grabbed his hand and held it.  “Open the champagne and we can talk about your things.”

Oliver nodded. “Okay. That sounds like a better idea.”

Felicity smiled and gave his hand a squeeze. “Yeah.”

Oliver got up and Felicity let go of his hand.

He took off his jacket and threw it on a chair. He pulled his dress shirt out of his jeans. “Get comfortable. This will take a while.”

Felicity kicked off her heels. She plumped the pillows and leaned them up against the headboard. She leaned back on the pillows.

Oliver brought the champagne and glasses over to the bed. He sat on the bad and kicked off his shoes and moved next to her on the bed. He handed her the glasses. He leaned over the edge of the bed and popped the cork.

“Oh! You really know how to open champagne without it getting it all over the place.” Felicity said as she held out the glasses.

“Most billionaires do.” Oliver shrugged.

“Did you just say ‘billionaire’?” Felicity let out a breath. “I thought you were just a high roller. The lounge at the Grand is full of high rollers.”

“I'm Oliver Queen. I thought you recognized me.” He handed her a filled glass.

“No. I've never heard of you.” Felicity took a sip from her glass. “I spend most of my time studying not surfing social networking sites.”

“Huh. I guess this means that you are Felicity Queen. Felicity is your name, right? I like it better than ‘Honey’.” Oliver said. He smiled into his champagne glass. “Honey doesn’t fit you. You are more like a queen.”   

“Felicity Queen. Wow. I'm married to a billionaire. Well fake married.” Felicity looked at him. “A really hot billionaire.”

Oliver smiled. “I hope it’s enough to convince Laurel that I don't want to marry her. I really don't want to and I’ve told her so but she won't listen to a thing I say.”

“She sounds pushy. Not the kind of girl I expected a billionaire would be with.” Felicity looked at him and smiled. “I thought you billionaires liked vapid leggy models.”

“She's leggy but not vapid or a model.” Oliver took a big sip. “She's going to be lawyer.”

“Wow. That explains the pushy thing.” Felicity took a sip. “You shouldn't let her push you around. Tell her how you feel and keep telling her until she listens.”

“I've tried but she has it in her head that if she keeps pushing, I’ll eventually give in.” Oliver looked into his glass. “It just makes me want to screw up more. I cheat on her and party with Tommy. I've dropped out of four colleges. I'm a waste.”

“Hey. I'm not going to let anyone call my husband a waste.” Felicity put her hand on his leg. “You’re not a waste. You deserve someone that appreciates you and doesn't try to make you into someone you're not.”

“Thanks Felicity.” Oliver filled her glass back up. “You're a good wife.”

Felicity snorted. She took a sip from her glass. “You know, I was going to get married once.”

“What happened?” Oliver asked.

“He got in some trouble and was put in jail. He killed himself before he was sentenced.” Felicity told him. “He was covering for me because I gave him the code to commit the crime.”

“How bad was it?” Oliver asked.

“Life in prison. He ... We hacked into something we shouldn't have then he did more than just hack. He started to delete files on the database. That was what got him caught.” Felicity told him.

Oliver reached over and brushed her hair back from her face. “I'm sorry. I guess we don't have the best luck with love.”

“I guess not.” Felicity sighed.

“Maybe we just need a break from romance.” Oliver said.

“Well, I hear that marriage ends romance. At least that’s what my mother says.” Felicity smiled. “So here we are. Married.”

Oliver took the champagne glass from her hand and sat it on the night table with the champagne bottle. He sat his glass down too.

Felicity reached out to him as he turned to face her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Oliver wrapped his arms around Felicity as he turned to face her. He kissed her and lowered her down to the bed.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” Oliver said as he pulled back just far enough to touch his forehead to hers.

“Yes. This is what I want.” Felicity moved to capture his lips in another kiss.

Oliver shifted to his side and then pulled her to face him. His hand slowly ran up and down her side as he looked at her. “I knew the moment I saw you that I was going to be in trouble.”

“What do you mean?” Felicity started to unbutton his shirt.

“All of this feels so real. It’s like it’s supposed to be real.” Oliver said. “Do you feel it too?”

“Yeah. I do but I just thought it was the champagne.” Felicity leaned forward and kissed him again as she ran her hand along his bare chest.

Oliver reached behind her and unzipped the blue dress. He unhooked her bra and pulled it down off her shoulder.   

He kissed her shoulder and sat up to pull off his shirt

Felicity pulled down the dress and pushed it off her hips. She threw it on the floor. Her bra followed quickly. She reached out and started to unbuckle his belt and open his jeans.

Oliver looked down at her in her panties and felt a rush of emotion. She was beautiful. Of course, he had been with other women who were beautiful but there was something different about Felicity. There was something that he didn’t know how to explain.

Felicity tugged down his jeans and slipped her hand into his boxer briefs. She gasped as she ran her hand up and down the length of his erection. She didn’t expect him to be so aroused so fast.

“Find something you like?” Oliver whispered in her ear as he kicked his jeans off the bed.

“Uh huh.” Felicity captured his lips in another kiss. She pulled back and looked at him. “What about you? Have you found something you like?”

“Yes and her name is Felicity.” Oliver pushed her hand away and tugged down her panties.

Felicity helped him and then pushed down his boxers. She looked him over with half closed eyes and felt her body respond. She could feel the wetness pool between her thighs and all she could think about was how he would feel inside her.

Oliver must have read her thoughts. He got on his knees and spread her legs before leaning over her. “I want you to be my queen.”

Felicity wrapped her legs around his hips and moaned as Oliver nuzzled her neck. She could feel him position himself. “Please Oliver. Don’t make me wait anymore.”

Oliver pushed inside her slowly. He wanted to make the first sensation of her last as long as he could.

Felicity buried her face in his shoulder. She could feel him enter her. She moaned when he finally stopped moving, inside her.

“Felicity?” Oliver whispered. He couldn’t tell if he had hurt her but he knew she wasn’t relaxed.

“Mmm Oliver.” Felicity ran her hand down his back and pressed it to his ass. “Please.”

Oliver moved slowly and gently until he could feel her start to relax and move with him. It took a little while before they were in sync with each other.

Felicity cried out as she fell apart underneath him. She felt him still moving as more waves of complete pleasure overwhelmed her. When he finally stopped deep inside her, he groaned and she could feel him release.

Oliver slowly pulled away from her. He looked at her face flushed and surrounded by silky dark curls. She looked like an angel sent to save him from all of his problems.

“Oliver?” Felicity whispered.

“Are you all right? Did I hurt you?” Oliver looked into her eyes.

“I’m … wow … that was… Oh God.” Felicity said breathlessly. She reached up and ran her hand through his hair. She took a moment to catch her breath. “No, you didn’t hurt me. Did I hurt you?”

“No but you did amaze me.” Oliver smiled. He lay on his back. He pulled her over unto his shoulder. He touched his finger to her nose. “I am not easily amazed in bed you know.”

“I can imagine.” Felicity cuddled against him. “So Husband, what do we do now?”

“We sleep and then room service in the morning. Coffee and croissants sound good.” Oliver smiled.

“Coffee definitely. I can’t function without it.” Felicity laughed.

Oliver wrapped his arms around her. He sighed contentedly. “I think you wore me out, Wife.”

Felicity chuckled. She rubbed his chest with her hand. “Go to sleep and I just might wear you out again when we wake up.”

Oliver just grunted and closed his eyes.

Felicity sighed and drifted off to sleep. She felt secure and safe in his arms. She wondered why that was.

-

Felicity woke up to the smell of coffee. She stretched and realized she was alone in the bed. “Oliver?!”

“I’m right here. What do you want in your coffee?” Oliver was wearing a hotel robe.

“Cream and sugar.” Felicity sat up and pulled the covers up to hide her naked breasts. “You’re up early.”

“Not really. It’s almost noon.” Oliver said. “I thought you might want to get your stuff. That is if you still want to stay with me.”

“Yeah, I do. Thank you.” Felicity took the cup of coffee Oliver handed to her along with the croissant. “I should get dressed.”

“Sounds good. I don’t think I would like my wife walking around naked so I think getting dressed might be a good idea.” Oliver leaned over, gave her a soft kiss as he sat on the bed. 

“You taste like coffee.” Felicity giggled.

Oliver laughed. “What should we do today? I kinda want to sight see a little. How about going to the Eifel Tower?”

“Yeah. We should do that and then we can take a stroll along the strip.” Felicity said. “You want to do the full on tourist thing or do you want to see some things off the tour.”

“Both I think.” Oliver scrunched up his face. “Let me guess you were a tour guide to get money for school.”

“Yeah. I’ve done a lot of things for money for school.” Felicity realized how that sounded. “Um… well not …you know. I don’t … you know … for money.”

“Only for fun, huh?” Oliver grinned. “We should do some souvenir shopping too. I want to get something completely cheesy to remember our honeymoon.”

There was a knock on the door. Oliver got up to answer it. The bellhop handed him a box. Oliver took it over and handed it to Felicity. He got a tip for the bellhop out of his wallet on the bedside table.

The bellhop looked at the tip and smiled just before he disappeared down the hallway.

“What is it?” Oliver asked as he sat down. He watched as Felicity opened the box.

“It’s our wedding album and there’s a box with roses carved in it. It’s a keepsake box.” Felicity looked up with a smile. “My cousin got one too. They give one to all the couples.”   

She opened the wooden box and looked inside. There was a card.

 

_“Best Wishes Oliver and Felicity_

_From the Rose Chapel_

_Fred and Carol”_

 

“What do we do with it?” Oliver asked.

“We could put keepsakes from our honeymoon in it.” Felicity shrugged.

“Okay but what kind of things do we put in it?” Oliver asked.

“Things like postcards and ticket stubs. Stuff like that.” Felicity said.

“Then we should start filling it up.” Oliver went over to the dresser and picked up one of the stationary sheets. He folded it so the Paris Hotel logo showed and came back to the bed. He put it inside the box. “There! How’s that for a start?”

“Perfect.” Felicity beamed up at him.

“We should get dressed. I’m going to call Tommy to let him know that I’m coming to get my bag from the Grand. You should get your things and then we will meet back here in an hour for honeymoon fun.”

Felicity put the box on the bed and threw back the covers. She picked up her clothes and headed to the bathroom.

Oliver smiled. He was going to have a lot of fun with her. Real or not she was one hell of a wife.

-

Felicity walked into her mother’s apartment and looked around. She hurried to her room and started to stuff things in a duffle bag.

She looked at the clothes and realized he would see her as she really was and not what Ginger had made her into. She wasn’t sure how he was going to react when he realized his wife was a Goth.

No. his wife was a genius zombie.

Felicity sighed and finished packing. She took a shower and left the blue dress on the bed. She grabbed the duffle bag and got out the door without her mom catching her at home.         

-

Oliver knocked on the door of the suite he was supposed to share with Tommy. He grinned when Tommy opened the door looking more than a little hungover.

Oliver pushed in. “Have a rough night?”

“We gambled until dawn and drank more alcohol than I have ever drunk in my life. Ginger can party harder than you.” Tommy said. “You look well rested. How was your night?” 

“You know.” Oliver grinned and shrugged. “Wedding night drinking. Wedding night sex.”

“I’m glad someone got laid. I sure didn’t.” Tommy said. He clapped Oliver on the back. “Where is the little woman now? Waiting naked in bed for you to return?”

“She went to get some clothes.” Oliver looked around and spotted his duffle bag. “There it is. I just came to get my bag and then you and Ginger can get back to sleep.”

“Ginger went home.” Tommy told him. “We are having dinner tonight at this swanky place she knows. You and Honey want to join us? About eight-ish?”

“I’ll let Honey know.” Oliver reached down and grabbed his bag from the floor. He looked at Tommy with a twinkle in his eye. “Swanky huh? Since when do you use the word ‘swanky’?”

“Ginger called it swanky.” Tommy shrugged. “I guess they use that word here.”

“I guess they do.” Oliver chuckled and headed out the door. “Text me the address of the swanky place and the name on the reservation.”

“Sure. See you later, Buddy.” Tommy sighed as the door shut. He picked up the ice pack and put it back on his head. “Why does he always have all the luck?”

- 

Felicity was sure she was late when she got to the suite. She realized she didn’t have a key card so she knocked on the door.

Oliver opened the door and looked at her. The look of surprise on his face made Felicity want to run for the elevator.

“Hey. I was wondering where you were.” Oliver held the door open for her to enter. “I imagined a lot of things but Goth was not one of them.”

“Sorry you married me now?” Felicity tried to joke but it just sounded bitter and hurt. She put her bag on the chair and looked at him.

Oliver pulled her into his arms. “I am not sorry I married you. How could I be? You’re the same person inside as you were last night.”  

“We are certainly a shocking couple. A preppy guy and a Goth girl.” Felicity said as she leaned into his chest.

“Let them be shocked.” Oliver tilted her chin up and kissed her. “What should we do first?”

“Eifel tower. It gets crowded at night.” Felicity said.

“Speaking of tonight, Tommy invited us to dinner with him and Ginger.” Oliver pulled his phone out of his pocket. He showed the text to Felicity. “Do you know this place?”

“Strictly suit and tie and expensive. I didn’t bring anything to wear to a place like that, did you?” Felicity asked.

“Yeah I did. I always bring a suit with me. Why don’t we stop at the boutique off the lobby and see what they have in your size?” Oliver laughed. “Maybe something black?”

“Very funny.” Felicity laughed. “Okay. We’ll do that first then the Eifel Tower after we drop off the bag here.”

“We can have the bag brought to the room. Shoes too.” Oliver smiled. “You are a lot shorter than you were last night.”

“Ginger has a thing for five inch stilettos. I borrowed my outfit from her last night.” Felicity said.

“I thought so. Let’s go get you some things of your own for tonight and maybe an extra outfit just in case.” Oliver took her by the hand. “Ready?”

“Yeah.” Felicity said as she gave his hand a squeeze and let him lead her out and down to the elevator.

They did turn heads when they crossed the lobby holding hands from the elevator to the boutique. Felicity saw people staring and felt self-conscious. Oliver noticed and gave her hand a squeeze for reassurance. 

As they walked into the boutique, the clerk raised an eyebrow at them.

“Excuse me.” Oliver said to her. “Do you have something for my wife in a size…?”

“Two. I’m a size two.” Felicity said.

“She needs a dinner dress. We are meeting friends at somewhere special to celebrate.” Oliver said.

“I’m not sure that you can afford this place.” The clerk smiled. “Maybe you should try the mall.”

Oliver rolled his eyes and took out his wallet. He held up a credit card for her to see. “You do know what one of these is and what the credit limit on it is?”

The clerk swallowed and nodded. “I apologize, Mr. Queen. I will show your … wife what we have right away.”

Felicity looked over at the credit card. “Wow. I thought those cards were a myth. I guess marrying a billionaire has its perks. She would have never waited on me.”

Oliver looked down at Felicity and grinned. “She doesn’t know who she’s dealing with. You’re a Queen, Felicity.”

“Thank you for this” Felicity looked up at him and he leaned down and gave her a quick kiss.

The clerk came back with six dresses. “Would you like to try them on or should I just wrap them up?”

Felicity handed Oliver her purse. She looked through the dresses and picked out a red one, a black one and a gold and silver one. “I’ll try these. Where is the changing room?”

“Down there to the right. Will you be taking these as well?”  The clerk looked at Oliver.

Oliver shook her head. “Shoes. She needs some shoes.”

“Yes sir.” The clerk took the dresses back and went to find some shoes for the dresses Felicity had selected.

Felicity came out of the dressing room in the black dress. “Well?”

“I like it. What about the other two?” Oliver smiled.

Felicity nodded. “I’ll be right back.”

The clerk brought over some black pumps and a pair of red stilettos. 

Felicity came out in the red dress carrying the gold and silver one. She handed it to the clerk. “I don’t want this one. When I tried it on it looked like something my mom would wear. Just the red and the black.”

“Yes. What size shoe?” The clerk asked.

“Six. Those black ones are too low. He’s really tall and I barely come up to his chest. The red ones are okay.” Felicity looked at Oliver to see his reaction.

Oliver was giving her a very lustful look. He really liked her in red.

“Oliver!” Felicity waved at him. She smiled when he realized he had been caught looking. Felicity bit her lip to keep from laughing.      

Oliver cleared his throat and shifted her purse to his other hand. “Whatever you want.”

“Let me change and I’ll try on the red shoes.” Felicity said.

“Don’t you want to see them with the dress?” The clerk asked.

“That’s okay. Could you find me some black strappy somethings?” Felicity said. She looked at Oliver. “I’ll be right back.”

“Of course.” The clerk said and went to get what Felicity asked for.

Felicity came out and put both dresses on the counter. She tried on the red stilettos and the black strappy heels.

“That’s what I want.” Felicity said as she looked at the black shoes. She looked at the black polish on her toes and frowned. “Wow I should really repaint my toes before I wear those red ones.”

Oliver chuckled. “I didn’t even notice before now.”

“You haven’t been looking at my feet.” Felicity smirked.

Oliver blushed. “No. I guess I haven’t. Are we done here?”

“Yes.” Felicity slipped off the shoes and put her own back on. She took her purse from Oliver pulled him down to give him a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you Oliver.”

Oliver kissed her on the lips and whispered. “You’re welcome.”

The clerk coughed to get their attention.

“Send these up to our room.” Oliver said as the clerk started to ring everything up. He handed the clerk the credit card. He signed the receipt and put the room number on the bottom.

“I’ll have them sent up right away.” The clerk said.

Felicity took a card from the holder and tucked it in her purse. She shrugged when Oliver gave her a questioning look.  


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Oliver took her hand and they went through the lobby outside where the entrance to the Eifel Tower. They took the elevator up after buying tickets. Felicity took a photo of the two of them at the top with her phone. Oliver had his arms wrapped around her.

Felicity also took one of the view. It might be one of the last times she would be in Las Vegas. She was going back to school and she may not get back for a long time.

Oliver caught the wistful look on Felicity’s face. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I don’t get home often. I’m not sure if I will get back until after I graduate.” Felicity sighed. “Plane tickets aren’t cheap.”   

Oliver put his arms around her and held her tight until she was ready to go. He just wanted to make her feel better.

Felicity leaned back against his chest and let it soothe her. She would have never come up here on her own but she was glad she came to take a look at the place where she was born and raised for what might be the last time. 

Oliver kept his arm around her as they came down in the elevator. They headed down along the Strip next.

Oliver caught her looking in the window of a jewelry store a few blocks down. They were advertising beads and custom bracelets.

“What are those? I’ve never seen them before.” Oliver said. “How do they work?”

“You get the beads and put them on a bracelet in the order of a story.” Felicity explained. “Every story is different that is why there are so many kinds of beads.”

“We have a story. I’m going to get one for you.” Oliver said. He led her into the store by the hand. 

“Hi! We want one of those bead bracelets.” Oliver said. He looked at felicity. “What size?”

“I don’t think they come in sizes.” Felicity said. She looked at the display case. “I want the black leather bracelet. Now we have to pick what to put on it.”

Oliver looked into the case. “O and F for our initials.”

“Dice for Las Vegas.” Felicity said. “Oh! Look! They have an Eifel tower.”

“We need a heart and a crown too.” Oliver said.

“What do we need those for?” Felicity asked as the clerk put the beads out on the counter for them.

“For love and because you’re my queen.” Oliver winked.

“Oh!” Felicity smiled. “Should we get the wedding bells?”

“Yeah and the rose.” Oliver pointed it out through the glass.

“I think that’s it.” Felicity said.

Oliver nodded and put his credit card on the counter.

Oliver started to put the beads in order while the clerk rang it all up. “In Las Vegas, Oliver fell in love with Felicity. He married her in a chapel surrounded by roses and made her his queen.”  

“And they spent two weeks in Paris.” Felicity interrupted.     

“Sounds like a wonderful story.” The clerk slid the receipt across the counter to Oliver to sign along with his credit card.

Felicity put the beads on the bracelet. When she was finished she turned to Oliver. “Oliver, help me put it on.”

Oliver fastened the clasp and looked at it. He smiled. It was the perfect story. The only problem was that it would end when he got on the plane in less than two weeks.  

“What are you thinking?” Felicity asked.

Oliver shook his head and led her out of the store. He pulled her close as they started to walk.

“Hey. Tell me what you were thinking in the store. I know it was something, so don’t tell me it was nothing.” Felicity said after a while.

“I was thinking that I want us to keep putting beads on it. I was thinking that, maybe, we didn’t have to go our separate ways after this.” Oliver said.

“You mean like have a real marriage or relationship or something?” Felicity asked.

“Yeah. Maybe, I could come see you at school or we could go somewhere on your next break.” Oliver suggested.

“You would want to do that?” Felicity asked.

“Yeah.” Oliver stopped walking and faced her. “Don’t you want to see me again?”

“I do but I didn’t think that you would want to see me. I thought this was all for fun.” Felicity said. “You know … make believe.”

“Does it feel like it’s just ‘make believe’ to you?” Oliver asked. “Because it doesn’t to me.”

Felicity thought a moment. She looked into his eyes. “No. It doesn’t and that scares me.”

“It scares me too.” Oliver said. “What if we were meant to be together and the universe is just giving us a push?”

Felicity shrugged. “Some people say that there are no coincidences.”

“See!” Oliver smiled.

“Why don’t we just see what happens and if we still feel like we want to see each other again at the end of the two weeks then we make some plans.” Felicity said.

“You’re afraid of getting hurt, aren’t you?” Oliver could feel her apprehension.

“I’ve been hurt before.” Felicity said. “Cooper hurt me by dying. He’s not the only one. I haven’t told you but my dad walked out on me and my mom when I was little. I don’t want to get my hopes up just to lose you.”

“You won’t lose me, Felicity.” Oliver pulled her into his arms right there on the street. “Not if I can help it.”

Felicity put her arms around him and held on. She wanted to believe him so much but the past was telling her she shouldn’t.

Oliver pulled away after a while and looked at his watch. “We had better get back and change. Tommy said not to be late.”

“Then we had better hurry.” Felicity took his hand and they walked back to the hotel to change.

\-     

Oliver got out of the shower and looked at Felicity putting on her makeup in the mirror above the dresser. The black dress fit her curves well and it took all he had not to throw her on the bed and show her how much he wanted her.

Felicity looked around and smiled. “You had better hurry. You take longer than I do to get ready.”

“I’ll just be a minute.” Oliver walked over to the closet and pulled out a clean shirt and the blue suit he had brought with him. “Felicity, we rushed back without talking about what we said outside the store. I don’t want you to think that I’m just said that to take advantage of you. I really meant it.”

“I know you did and I believe you but things don’t always work out the way we want them to, Oliver.” Felicity put her lipstick in her purse. “That’s what my mother says. I think we need to have fun and not try to plan anything until we know for sure that it can happen. Don’t think I don’t want to be with you again because I do. I just want to be practical about this. I’m a poor college student whose scholarship doesn’t cover everything and you are a billionaire with your whole life set out before you.”

“That’s the problem. My life is already planned for me.” Oliver started to get dressed. “I want to be able to have something I choose for myself.”

“Like the person you give your heart to?” Felicity sighed. “Is that is really what this is all about? Pushy Laurel?”

“No. It started that way but now it’s not about her at all. I know where I want my heart to be and it’s with you.” Oliver stopped what he was doing and realized what he just said.

Felicity looked at him wide eyed. She didn’t know how to respond to what he said. She finally turned back to the mirror. “We had better hurry. We don’t want to be late.”

They both knew that there was going to more to that conversation when there was time.

Felicity put on her shoes and waited for Oliver to finish dressing. They left for the restaurant as soon as they were ready. The cab ride was quiet as they both thought about what had been said. 

-

At the restaurant, Tommy and Ginger had already started drinking while they waited for Oliver and Felicity to arrive. Tommy wobbled a little as he stood up when Felicity came to the table. He smirked at Oliver.

Ginger looked at Felicity and couldn’t believe what she saw. Her best friend in life was wearing a designer dress and heels. Ginger knew they were the latest season on the runway. This was not what she expected from Felicity. Something was up and she had to find out what it was.

“Hi.” Felicity said as walked up to the table.

Ginger stood up. She grabbed Felicity’s arm before she could sit down. “Honey and I are going to powder our noses. We will be right back.”

Felicity shrugged at Oliver as she caught his frown. She let Ginger pull her along into the ladies room.                   

“Where did you get that?” Ginger asked as soon as they were in the ladies room.

“Where did I get what?” Felicity asked in return.

“You know what!” Ginger said excitedly.

“Oliver brought it for me.” Felicity held out her wrist for Ginger to see. “It’s a story bracelet. Wasn’t that sweet of him?”

“I wasn’t talking about the bracelet. I was talking about that dress and those shoes.” Ginger glanced at the bracelet. “Your mom is going to kill us both. It has wedding bells on it. She is going to know you fake married a guy and he pulled a ‘Pretty Woman’ on you.”

“What are you talking about?” Felicity was confused.

“He bought you stuff like the guy in the movie.” Ginger sighed. “You really need to take your eyes off your computer screen now and then. Please tell me you didn’t sleep with him.”

“We may have had some sex.” Felicity said evasively.

“Oh God. Please tell me you used protection.” Ginger gave her a pleading look.

“No. We didn’t. We were a little tipsy and things just happened.” Felicity said. “I like him. He likes me. It’s fine.”

“Did you forget about the fact that ‘some sex’ could lead to ‘some baby’?” Ginger reminded her.

Felicity sighed. “Ginger, I’m not going to have this conversation in a restaurant ladies room. We will talk about it later.”

“Tell him to get some condoms if he wants more sex. From what I have heard from Tommy, Oliver gets around a lot. He could have anything.” Ginger told her.

Felicity rolled her eyes. “I’ll talk to him.”

“Thank you. Now we can go back to the table.” Ginger said as she walked out of the bathroom.

-

“I see you’re spending money on her.” Tommy said when Ginger and Felicity left the table. “Ginger says she really Goth. She calls her a genius zombie.”

Oliver put his napkin on his lap. “What are you trying to say, Tommy?”

“I’m saying don’t get too attached to her. We aren’t staying that long.” Tommy took a sip from the drink in front of him. “She will be a distant memory in a few weeks.”

“Maybe not.” Oliver said. “We have been talking about seeing each other again. She and I might go on a real trip during her next break from school or I could just go see her, whenever.”

“Are you forgetting about something?” Tommy put the glass down and leaned forward. “You have a girlfriend in Starling City.”

“No I don’t. I’m not going back to Laurel after this. I will never be happy with her and I want to be happy.” Oliver said as he stood up. “Here come the girls. Let’s just have a nice dinner.”

Tommy stood up and helped Ginger with her chair. He and Ginger shared a look.

Oliver helped Felicity with her chair and kissed her on the cheek before he sat down. “We should get a menu. Do you see the server, Tommy?”

“Yeah.” Tommy waved over the server and asked for menus. Oliver and Felicity ordered drinks as well.

“So how’s the honeymoon going?” Tommy asked. He gave Oliver a judgmental look.

“We had fun today. We went to the Eifel tower and looked out over the city and walked along the Strip.” Felicity said. “What did you and Ginger do today?”

“Well, after we stopped gambling and drinking at dawn I dropped her off like the gentleman I am and we slept in separate beds until a couple of hours ago.” Tommy said with a smirk.

Oliver choked on his drink. He gave Tommy a glare as he coughed into his napkin.

“Maybe we should go.” Felicity said to Oliver.

“No. Tommy is just kidding.” Oliver said as looked at Tommy again. “Aren’t you Tommy?”

“Sure.” Tommy said. He glanced over at Ginger.

“We’re just concerned that you two are taking this a little too far.” Ginger said.

Felicity looked down. She couldn’t believe that Ginger, of all people, was getting on her case about her romantic choices. Ginger had dated a married man for a year to get him to pay her tuition. Not to mention the thirty year old biker Ginger dated when she was still in high school.

Oliver looked over at Felicity. He reached over and took her hand. “I think it’s up to us how far we want to take it. We know what we are doing. Can we just drop it now? Please?”

Felicity looked up at Ginger. “We just want to enjoy our evening. I mean. How often do we get to eat at a place like this with handsome guys?”

“I guess I shouldn’t be so hard on you.” Ginger relented. “We just don’t want either one of you to get hurt.”

“After some of the guys you dated, Tommy seems like a boy scout.” Felicity said.

“Hey! I am not a boy scout.” Tommy pretended to be offended. “I am wild and irresponsible. Right Oliver?”

Oliver sighed. “I guess that would depend on the guys Ginger has dated. You could be an angel compared to them.”

Tommy looked at Ginger for an answer.

“Well, he might be a little tame in comparison.” Ginger laughed. “But I need a break from the danger boys I usually date. Tommy is a nice change and I don’t have to worry about posting bond for him.”

“Not yet. We have only been here a couple of days.” Oliver said. “He hasn’t even gotten started yet.”

Felicity giggled. “So much for a break from the wild boys, huh Ginger? Do I have to worry about you getting wild, Oliver?”

“Me? No. I’m just an old married man. Not wild at all.” Oliver said with a grin.

Tommy scoffed at what Oliver said. He picked up his drink and downed the rest of it. He waved over the server and ordered another one.   

They finally ordered and they talked about some of the sights until the food arrived.

Ginger suggested that they all take in a show. Oliver and Felicity were in but Tommy needed some convincing.

Everything had lightened up until Felicity fed Oliver a bite of the chocolate desert

“Could you two not do things like that in front of us? It’s kinda weird.” Tommy said. “You act like you’re really married or something.”

“We are married for the rest of the time I’m here.” Oliver said. “Why shouldn’t we act like it?

“You tell them why, Ginger. He’ll just glare at me.” Tommy said.

“It’s a little gross.” Ginger said. “I know Felicity and she is not really like this. She’s usually so logical and boring.”

“Oh?” Felicity said. “I have a fun romantic side. I’m not always a … a genius zombie. By the way, it still isn’t a thing?”

Ginger and Tommy looked at each other and laughed.

“What exactly is a genius zombie anyway?” Oliver asked.

“I’m a genius and I’m Goth so I kinda look like a zombie.” Felicity said.

“I thought you looked beautiful this afternoon.” Oliver said.

“Thank you Oliver.” Felicity looked at Ginger. “See! Not everyone thinks I’m creepy when I dress Goth.”

“Your friend is a little off.” Ginger said to Tommy.

“I have been saying that for years.” Tommy smirked at Oliver.

Felicity giggled and gave Oliver a kiss on the cheek. “I think he’s sweet.”

Oliver just glared at Tommy.    


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

“So what is this about my wife being a genius?” Oliver asked in the cab on the way back to the hotel.

“I have an IQ through the roof.” Felicity told him. “I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or not. I tend to think too much and give myself a headache.”

“Did you think too much when you agreed to marry me?” Oliver asked as he looked at her seriously.

“I didn’t think at all.” Felicity leaned against his shoulder. “First time I ever did that.”

Oliver pulled her closer. “Why did you say ‘yes’?”

“I don’t know.” Felicity looked up at him. She smiled and stroked his cheek. “But I’m glad I did.”

“Me too.” Oliver leaned down and kissed her. He whispered in her ear. “I can’t wait to get you out of that dress.”

Felicity giggled. “I can’t wait to let you.”

When the cab reached the Paris hotel, Oliver paid and he and Felicity went up to their room.

They barely got inside the room when Oliver lifted her up and took her over to the bed. He put her down gently into the middle of the bed. He kicked off his shoes and pulled off his jacket before joining her on the bed.

“I like this.” Felicity said as he nuzzled her neck. “You and me.”

Oliver pulled back and looked at her. “This isn’t the end, you know. We are going to see each other again. I can come see you at school and we can take trips on your breaks.”

“This sounds lovely but long distance things don’t always work.” Felicity said.

“Is that you thinking again?” Oliver said.

“Yeah it is.” Felicity was serious. “I just don’t want either one of us to be disappointed.”

“The only way that will happen is if I never see you again.” Oliver said. “I’m a billionaire. I have a jet at my disposal. We could see each other any time and go anywhere.”

“I like that idea. I guess we should talk about it some more. We need to work out some details.” Felicity said. “We need to exchange emails and phone numbers and all that.”

“We can do that in the morning. Right now, I want to take that dress off of my wife.” Oliver kissed her neck making her gasp.

He pulled her over on her side and unzipped the dress slowly while he kissed her lips slowly and deeply. His hand found the clasp of her bra and released it.

Felicity was quickly unbuttoning the dress shirt Oliver was wearing. She spread her hands over his chest and abs as soon as she got it open. He was warm and so solid under her fingertips.

Oliver got up on his knees and took off his shirt and tie then pulled Felicity into a sitting position to get the dress off. He pulled the dress over her head and laughed when she kicked her shoes off.

“Come here.” Felicity said as she held her arms out to him.

Oliver slipped into her arms and smiled as he kissed her. He shifted them so that he was over her. He leaned on his elbows and kissed her deep and passionately. She still tasted like chocolate from the desert.

Felicity slid her hands down and unfastened Oliver’s belt and dress pants. She pushed them down and slid her hands into his boxers to pull his hips to hers.

Oliver pushed the pants to the floor and tugged on her panties. He didn’t stop kissing her as they worked together to undress the rest of the way.

Felicity was surprised that she was so hungry for him. She was almost wild as she pulled him closer. She was more than ready when he finally slid inside her.

They found their rhythm quickly but the moved slowly and deliberately. They let their bodies dictate the pace.

Felicity could feel the pleasure building inside her. She was surprised when Oliver shifted their positions and put her on top of him.

“Felicity.” Oliver whispered.

She nodded and started to grind into his hips. His hips moved into her over and over again until Felicity came hard and collapsed into his chest.

Felicity felt his hands grab her hips then he released deep inside her.

“Oliver?” Felicity reached up and grabbed his face.

“Huh?” Oliver rubbed her back is slow circles.

“You’re the best husband. Ever!” Felicity grinned at him.

“Thanks.” Oliver laughed. He held her against his chest as they fell asleep.

-

Over the next two weeks, they went to every tourist trap in Las Vegas. They laughed all day then went to bed each night to make love and fall asleep in each other’s arms.

They knew that their time in Las Vegas wasn’t going to last forever but they wanted to make the most of the time they had until they could be together again.   

Felicity took lots of pictures on her phone. She also collected postcards and little things to put in their keepsake box.

Every time Felicity put something in the box. Oliver would ask if it was full yet. Felicity would just shake her head and tell him there was a more room left.

Oliver usually responded by putting his arms around her and kissing her on the neck. He would ask what was next and they would plan their next day over a room service supper.

-

There was only a few days left when Ginger and Tommy met them to go to a show.

Oliver and Tommy arranged for them to meet at the show and Oliver was to pick up the tickets.

Oliver and Felicity were waiting in the lobby holding hands when Tommy and Ginger came. Tommy frowned and Ginger looked annoyed when they spotted Oliver and Felicity.  

Oliver handed Tommy two tickets for him and Ginger. “So have you lost all your money yet?”

“Nope but I have lost some of it.” Tommy grinned. “I just hope Dad doesn’t cut me off after we get back.”

“It serves you right if he did.” Ginger said. “Last night, you lost more than my tuition for a year. Are you two gambling?”

“No. We are sight-seeing and just having some fun. I had forgotten how much there is here to do outside of a casino.” Felicity said.

“Have you been wandering around looking like that the whole time?” Ginger asked Felicity.

“Like what?” Felicity looked down at her clothes. “I look like I always do. Why?”

Ginger sighed in annoyance. “You have to be kidding. Can’t you just be like a normal girl for once?”

“I think she’s beautiful.” Oliver said. He put his arm around Felicity. He smiled when Felicity leaned her head on his shoulder and looked up at him with a smile.

Tommy gave Oliver a doubtful look.

“Something you want to say, Tommy?” Oliver asked when he caught the look that Tommy gave him. He expected Tommy to think he was crazy but he didn’t care.

“It’s just you usually go for more … um … typical girls.” Tommy tried to be diplomatic but he still managed to get a glare from Oliver.

“I think we should go in and get our seats.” Ginger said. She took a ticket from Tommy and grabbed Felicity by the arm.

Oliver handed Felicity a ticket and laughed as Felicity sighed. He knew Ginger was going to give her a hard time about the way she was dressed.

“You have got to be kidding.” Tommy said as soon as the girls were out of earshot. “Now, I know why Ginger calls her a zombie. I can’t wait to see the look on Moira Queen’s face when you introduce her to your family.”

“I think you have more expensive taste than I do in women.” Oliver said. “Ginger dresses in designer labels and probably looks perfect all the time, even when she drunk.”

“Well yeah. But she’s a Goth, Oliver. You are one weird son of a bitch.” Tommy shook his head. “We better catch up with them; they are probably talking about us.”

“Women always talk about us when they go off like that.” Oliver said. He grinned at the surprised look on Tommy’s face. “I have a sister. She tells me things.”

“You know that Thea is going to disown you when she sees her.” Tommy laughed.

Ginger found their seats and sat down. She pulled Felicity into the seat next to her. “Are you telling me that he has seen this and he isn’t turned off?”

“Yes. He says I’m beautiful. You heard him.” Felicity grinned. “We are a weird pair, though. He’s so preppy and I’m so Goth. We have had a lot of shocked looks around town.”

“You like it and you know it. That’s why you dress like that.” Ginger said.

“Oh and you dress like that to fade into the background?” Felicity countered. “I bet Tommy loves all those tight dresses and really high heels. Has he been looking at your ass?”

Ginger shrugged. “He has checked me out a few times. I haven’t slept with him, if that’s what you’re implying.”

“I wasn’t implying anything.” Felicity tried to look innocent.

Oliver and Tommy caught up with them. Ginger and Felicity sat in the seats between Oliver and Tommy.

Felicity and Oliver reached out to hold hands as the lights went down.

Ginger noticed and frowned. She looked at Tommy and he looked bored already. Ginger sat back and wondered how Felicity had managed to get so lucky.    

After the show, they went to an all-night buffet. They found a booth over in the corner and sat down to eat.

Oliver and Felicity did turn heads at the buffet but it was more for the affection they were showing each other and less for the way they looked.

“Could you two stop with the cute?” Tommy said. “It’s ruining my appetite.”

“We aren’t doing anything.” Oliver said. He looked over at Felicity. “Are we doing anything?”

Felicity shook her head. “Not a thing. I mean, I could feed you again if Tommy wants me to or kiss you with our mouths full. I think that one is kinda gross though.”

“Yeah. It kinda is.” Oliver scrunched his face up at that.

“What I don’t get is that you didn’t run for your life when you saw her like that.” Ginger said. “Most normal guys would.”

Oliver looked at Felicity and smiled. “I guess I’m not a normal guy. I just saw her.”

“Best husband ever!” Felicity pulled him over to her and kissed him.

Oliver kissed her again.

Tommy put his napkin on the table. “I’m done.”

Ginger looked at Oliver and Felicity and tilted her head at them. “I can’t believe it.”

“Neither can I.” Tommy said. He looked at Ginger and she shrugged.

Oliver and Felicity just looked at them both and grinned.

“Well the casinos are waiting. Want to join?” Tommy asked.

“No. We are just going to go back to our room and kiss some more.” Oliver winked at Tommy. “Have fun. Ready Honey?”

“I’m always ready for more kisses with you and a few other things.” Felicity gave him a seductive smirk.

“Bye.” Oliver stood up and helped Felicity out of the booth.

“Don’t lose too much.” Felicity said.

Tommy and Ginger watched them as they left.

“What the hell is with that?” Tommy looked at Ginger.

“I think they are actually falling for each other. That’s what.” Ginger said.

“This will not end well for anybody.” Tommy said.

“Definitely not.” Ginger said. “Where to?”

“You pick.” Tommy said.

Ginger just nodded. “I know just the place.”

They headed for the one casino they hadn’t hit yet.     

-         

The night before they were to leave Las Vegas, Oliver came out of the shower in his boxers and stopped dead in his tracks. His smiled when he saw Felicity in the red dress with her hair pulled back. He watched as she put on her shoes.

Felicity looked up at him and smiled. “What do you think? I think I like this one better than the black one. From the look on your face, so do you.”

“You're beautiful in whatever you wear.” Oliver blushed. “I better get dressed. We don't want to be late for our reservation.”

“This is our last night together. I'm so glad you and I having a romantic night out.” Felicity said as she checked herself out in the mirror.

“You don't think I could let us leave Paris without one.” Oliver held up two ties. “Which one?”

“Um. The blue one.” Felicity pointed at it. “It makes your eyes pretty.”

“Pretty?” Oliver smiled. “Whatever you want, Mrs. Queen.”

Felicity laughed. “Thanks for the mani pedi this afternoon. It was glorious.”

“I thought I should spoil you a little more and we have been walking everywhere for the past two weeks.” Oliver said. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“You haven’t told me where we are going.” Felicity swiped lip gloss over her lips.

“It’s a place my dad told me about once. It’s actually a little more exclusive than the place we went to with Ginger and Tommy. They have private dining rooms and a tasting menu.” Oliver told her as he dressed.

“How did you get the reservation on such short notice? It sounds like it would be really hard to do.” Felicity put her lip gloss in her purse.

“I told them that I was Robert Queen’s son and they made an opening for me.” Oliver said.

“Billionaire perk?” Felicity laughed.

“Something like that.” Oliver said. He picked up his jacket and took something from the pocket. “I did a little shopping while you were being pampered.”

“What did you buy?” Felicity said as she watched him open the black jewelry box. In the box, there was a gold crown pendant with a diamond in the center.

Oliver took it out the box and put it on her.

Felicity went to the mirror and looked at it on her neck. “Shit! Is that a diamond? It’s huge!”

“You didn’t get an engagement ring so I thought this would be a good substitute.” Oliver said as he stood behind her.

“Wow!” Felicity just stared at the diamond at her neck. She turned suddenly and gave him a kiss.

Oliver held on to her and kissed her deeper. He let his hands slid to her hips as he pulled her closer. He pulled back breathless. “You’re welcome.”

Felicity laughed. She smoothed his lapels and looked up at him. “We should get going.”

“Right.” Oliver dropped his hands and watched as she gave herself one last check in the mirror.

They held hands as they left the room and headed for the elevator.

“Oliver, what is a tasting menu?” Felicity asked as they got in the elevator.

“It’s a lot of little bits of good stuff. You’ll see.” Oliver looked down at their hands. He didn’t even realize they had done that because it felt so natural for them to be holding hands.

-

When Oliver and Felicity arrived at the restaurant, they were greeted and quickly taken to a private dining room. It was a light blue. The table and chairs were white with gold gilding. The table was set and a bottle of champagne was waiting to be opened in an ice bucket nearby.

Oliver helped Felicity with her chair and sat down. He nodded to the server to start the courses.

Felicity was amazed at each different dish as it came out. She savored each taste and sipped champagne and various wines as they were brought out. She was having a wonderful experience.

Oliver watched her excitement and he smiled. This was what he wanted. He wanted someone to share things with. Someone who could be enthusiastic and appreciate the experience. Oliver was a billionaire’s son. This was not something new to him but watching Felicity enjoy every moment made it special to him.

When the desert course came, Felicity just stared at the selection. She tasted each one and waited for Oliver to try it too. She would give him a quick kiss with the taste of chocolate or sugar on her lips.

Oliver didn’t want it to end but it did. They walked out and waited for the cab.

“That was the most wonderful thing in the world. Everything was so good. It’s a good thing the servings were so small. Although that chocolate cherry fudge thing was so good I could have eaten every bit of it that they had.” Felicity gushed.

Oliver smiled. “I will have to have some shipped to you when you get back to school.”

Felicity sighed. “Right because in a few days, we will be back in our normal boring lives.”

“And we will be making plans for your next school break and a weekend visit.” Oliver said. “Several weekend visits.”

“We are really going to do this, aren’t we?” Felicity said as she held his hand.

“Yes. Here’s the cab.” Oliver leaned down and gave her a kiss before helping her in and getting in on the other side.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

When Oliver and Felicity returned to the hotel room, Felicity went to the mirror and took off her necklace. She put it in the box and then put it in the keepsake box.

“You don’t want to wear it?” Oliver asked as he watched her.

“I just want to keep it for when you and I go out. That’s when I’m really a queen.” Felicity said.

“You are always a queen. Hey. Come here.” Oliver sat on the bed.

Felicity came over and sat on his lap. She looped her arms around his neck and smiled down at him. “What are you thinking about?”

“I don’t want to go.” Oliver said.

“We have to. Now unzip me and we can have one more night together before we go.” Felicity turned so he could reach the zipper. “Oliver, we will always have Paris.”

Oliver reached up and unzipped her dress. “There are a lot of other places I’d like to take you to.”

“Tell me.” Felicity stood up and let the dress fall on the floor. She stood there in her bra and panties.

“I want to take you to New York to see Broadway.” Oliver said as he pulled her between his legs.   

“Where else?” Felicity put her hands on his shoulders.

“I want to take you to Niagara Falls on our second honeymoon.” Oliver kissed her stomach. “I want to take you to the real Paris after we have our first child.”

Felicity laughed. “Wow! You have me knocked up and everything in your thinky thoughts.”

“I sure do.” Oliver smiled up at her. “I want to take you to Rome after our second child.”

“Are we having more than two because it’s going to get expensive? All the trips and the nanny and …” Felicity started to say before he cut her off.

Oliver lay back on the bed and pulled her down with him. “I’m a billionaire remember?”

“Right.” Felicity straddled him and played with his tie. “Hey, where are we going to live with all these kids?”

“In the family mansion, of course.” Oliver grinned. “There will be plenty of room for all six of our kids.”

“You did not just say six.” Felicity playfully swatted his chest. “Oliver, I will be a blob after six kids.”

“You will always be my beautiful queen no matter how many children we have.” Oliver caught her hand and kissed her palm.

Felicity kissed him. “It’s a nice dream.”

“I intend to make it a reality.” Oliver said. “Just wait and see.”

“I know one thing.” Felicity sat up and started to unbutton his shirt. “We have one more night and I don’t want to sleep all of it away.”

Oliver grabbed her hips and sat up. He pulled off his shirt and unhooked her bra. He rolled her into the center of the bed and stood up. He toed off his shoes and stripped the rest of the way.

Felicity held out her arms to him as he got on the bed next to her. She kissed him and lifted her hips to help him pull off her panties.

They lay kissing and caressing each other. Oliver gently kissed her neck and shoulders. He paused several times to just look at her as if he were memorizing every bit of her.

Oliver finally settled between her thighs and Felicity pulled his hips closer until he was deep inside her.

“Felicity. My queen.” Oliver whispered in her ear.

Felicity moaned softly as he started to move inside her.

They moved slow and deliberate. They found their rhythm and they let their bodies take over.

Felicity gasped as she started to come hard in his arms.

Oliver kept moving until she went limp underneath him. He pulled back and saw Felicity smiling at him.

“What is it?” He smiled back.

“I love you, Oliver. I really do.” Felicity said.

“I love you, Felicity, but you already know that.” Oliver smiled. “Don’t you?”

Felicity nodded. “Hold me until morning.”

Oliver rolled over on his back and pulled her along with him. He smiled when she snuggled close to him. Soon, he heard her snoring softly.

-          

Oliver didn't sleep much that night. He watched Felicity sleep and wondered if he should stay with her. He could give her the life he dreamed of now and not have to wait if he stayed.  

Oliver knew one thing. The past two weeks had been the best relationship of his life and he didn't want it to end.

Oliver wasn't sure what Felicity wanted. Felicity was guarded when it came to her heart. She had good reasons to be after what she had gone through.

Oliver had listened to her tell the story of how her father walked out on his family. It wasn't something a child should have to go through. Anyone that had been through that was bound to be cautious.

The morning light started to filter into the room. There wasn't much time left before he had to leave.

Oliver reached over and touched her cheek. She was beautiful. She was worth loving. He wished she would let him be the one to love her.

Felicity's eyes fluttered. She reached up and grabbed his hand. She looked over at him and stretched. "Oliver? Did you sleep at all?"

"A little." Oliver smiled at her. "I was just thinking."

"Again?" Felicity asked. “About what?”

"You and me." Oliver kissed her softly. "I'll be home later today. I want you to call before you head off to MIT in the morning. You have my number, right?"

"I will." Felicity brushed his hair back. "What are you going to tell your family?"

"I'm going to tell them I met an incredible girl who is smart and beautiful." Oliver told her. "I'll tell them that you are my queen."

"What if they don't like me?" Felicity asked.

"They will adore you." Oliver smiled.

Oliver phone rang on the night table. Oliver reached back and picked it up.

"It’s Tommy." Oliver said. He got up from the bed and answered the call. "Hey Tommy. Are you ready? Okay. I'll meet you there."

Oliver looked back at the bed where Felicity was sitting up. He sighed when he saw the look on her face.

"It’s time, huh?" Felicity said.

"Yeah." Oliver went back to the bed and sat down. "I don't want to say goodbye. I will see you soon."

“We'll talk on the phone all the time, right?” Felicity looked hopeful.

“All the time.” Oliver kissed her. “I better get packed.”

“Oliver, I'm glad I did this with you.” Felicity said. “You know ... marry you and have our honeymoon.”

“I glad we did this too.” Oliver smiled. He picked his clothes off the floor. He put them on the bed. He grabbed his bag from the closet and started to put his things on the bed.

Felicity held up the pair of boxers with dice all over them from one of their shopping trips. “I can't wait to see you in these again.”

Oliver winked. “I will bring them when I come to visit.”

“You had better.” Felicity laughed. She started to fold his clothes and putting them into his bag.

“I better get dressed.” Oliver went to take a shower and get ready to go.

Felicity had him packed by the time he got out of the shower.

Oliver frowned. “You didn't have to do that.”

“I'm your wife.” Felicity shrugged. She held out her arms to him. “It’s what wives do.”

Oliver pulled her into his arms. “I will see you soon, Mrs. Queen.”

“I can't wait, Mr. Queen.” Felicity squeezed him tight.

Oliver pulled back and kissed her. It was soft and slow. His lips lingered near hers. “Soon.”

“Soon.” Felicity whispered back.

Oliver pulled away and went over to the dresser. He took off his wedding ring and put it in the keepsake box. He took a photo from the wedding album. He held it up.

“I like this one.” Oliver said as he tucked it into his wallet. “I better go. Tommy sounded impatient.”

Felicity nodded. She watched him pick up his bag and walked out the door.

Felicity lay back down on the bed and stared at the door.

Oliver promised her that they would see each other again but Felicity couldn't let herself believe it. He could go home and realize he had made a mistake or his family could keep them apart.

Felicity couldn't help but feel like she had just said goodbye to him forever.

She got up and wiped a tear from her face and got dressed. She put her dresses and shoes in the shopping bags. She put the wedding album and box on the top of one of the bags. She checked the room thoroughly and headed to her mom’s apartment.

-

Oliver walked from the cab to the private hanger. He spotted Tommy sitting on the jet steps.

“You're late.” Tommy said. “I was beginning to think that you were going to stay here with her.”

“I thought about it.” Oliver said. He walked slowly to the steps and looked at Tommy. “I'm going to keep seeing her.”

“How the hell do you think that's going to go over with Robert and Moira?” Tommy stood up. “They are not going to want her at the dinner table with all their important guests.”

“Good thing she cleans up really well.” Oliver signed.

“Not funny Oliver.” Tommy turned and went up the stairs and boarded the plane.

Oliver followed him on board. He stowed his bag and took a seat.

Tommy handed him a glass of scotch. “Here this will help you forget her.”

Oliver looked at the glass and took it. “I won't forget her. I will see her again.”

“You had better forget that and her before we get back to Starling City.” Tommy sat back in his seat and closed his eyes. “Face it Oliver. It was just some fun.”

Oliver looked at the glass. He sat back and looked out the window. He was never forgetting his Honey. He would never forget Felicity.

When they were half way there Tommy turned to him. “How are you going to see her? If you think your dad is going let you use the jet, you're crazy.”

“Oh! Now you want to talk about it.” Oliver said. “I doubt your dad is going to let you have the jet again either. You’re the one that's crazy if you think he will. How much did you lose?”

“I lost a lot but that's not the point.” Tommy poured himself another drink.

“What is the point?” Oliver said. “You think that my dad really wants me to be stuck with a woman I don't love.”

“Are you telling me you don't love Laurel at all?” Tommy asked.

“I don't love her enough to spend my life with her.” Oliver said. “That is kinda obvious by the way I cheat on her constantly.”

“So you love Honey enough to spend your life with her?” Tommy asked. He offered the bottle to Oliver.

“She is what I want. She is my future.” Oliver said. “We did a lot of talking while we were together. I told her things I have never told anyone. She told me a lot of things too.”

“When did you do all this talking? During sex or during all that shopping?” Tommy smirked.

Oliver rolled his eyes. “We didn't shop that much and we didn't have sex all the time. Just because you didn't get laid, you don’t need to get nasty.”

“How was I supposed to know that the quiet one was the freak?” Tommy smirked.

“She isn't a freak. She's sweet and special.” Oliver said. “You're just mad.”

“Whatever Oliver.” Tommy shrugged.

Oliver turned and looked out the window until they landed.

-

Twenty minutes after she left the hotel, Felicity let herself into her mother's apartment. She got halfway to her room before she heard her mom in the kitchen.

“Felicity, is that you?” Donna Smoak called out.

“Yes Mom. I'm just going to my room.” Felicity answered.

Donna came out of the kitchen in a bathrobe and frowned. “Where have you been for the last two weeks? I haven't seen you at all.”

“I was hanging out with Ginger.” Felicity said.

“I see. What do you have in the shopping bags?” Donna asked.

“Just some clothes.” Felicity shifted the bags in her hands.

“I know that store. Where did you get money to buy clothes from there?” Donna asked. She took the bag from her. “Felicity, tell me where did you get these.”

“Someone bought them for me.” Felicity said. “Ginger and I were hanging out with some high rollers.”

“Was it the young man you were having drinks with at the Grand?” Donna asked.

“Yes. How did you know about that?” Felicity looked uncomfortable. “I thought you were off that night.”

“Jesse told me about it. She said he was hot. Is he the same one who you married?” Donna asked.

“Wait! How did you know about that?” Felicity asked. “It wasn't even legal.”

“Really?” Donna walked back into the kitchen and picked up a large envelope off the counter. She handed it to Felicity. It was already open.

Felicity looked in the envelope and pulled out a marriage certificate. “Oh my God!”

“Where is your new husband now?” Donna asked. “I’d like to meet my new son in law.”

“He went back home.” Felicity sat down on the floor. “How did this happen? This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“You better find out and track him down.” Donna told her. “Felicity, you don't even know this boy. He may be rich and hot but you were just a distraction. Some fun. I thought you knew better than to let yourself be used like that. This isn’t like you at all.”

“I .... I just wanted to feel special.” Felicity said. “It’s just that after Cooper, I didn't think anyone would care about me. Oliver made me feel like I was special. He was sweet to me. He made me feel like a queen. He said we are going to keep seeing each other.”

“Oh baby. Is that what he told you?” Donna sat on the floor with her. She hugged Felicity and held her as looked at the marriage certificate. “It’s gonna be all right. I'll help you, if you want me to.”

“I can take care of it.” Felicity sat up and put the marriage certificate back in the envelope. “I have to figure out what happened. I don't understand how it’s legal.”

“Where did you get married?” Donna asked. She pushed back the hair from Felicity's face.

“The Rose Chapel. Oliver got the deluxe package.” Felicity said.

“Some of the wedding chapels offer the license and filing fee in the deluxe packages.” Donna told her.

“I should pull it up on line and see. I didn’t even look at the brochure. Oliver did and he paid for it.” Felicity started to feel a little dizzy.

“But there is still the waiting period. I don’t know how you got around that.” Donna wiped Felicity’s face with her hands. “You both have an out of state driver’s license.”

“No. I still have one from Nevada. I haven't got a new one yet.” Felicity said. “Is that what did it?”

Donna pulled Felicity back into a hug. “Yeah. It must have been.”

“Then this is my fault.” Felicity looked at the marriage certificate in her hand. “My driver’s license made it legal.”

“It was a mistake. You need to call him and fix it.” Donna said. “You just need an annulment or divorce. I get those confused.”

“I will but I need to pack for MIT. We’ll handle it when he comes to see me.” Felicity got up and helped Donna off the floor. She put the marriage certificate in the shopping bag and headed off to her room to pack.

Donna watched as her baby girl walked to her room. She knew that Felicity had been upset by Cooper's suicide. She assumed that her behavior must be because of her grief. She was also concerned that this boy wouldn’t show up like he promised her daughter.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Oliver was the first one off the plane. He walked away and headed to his car.

“Call you later!” Tommy called him after him.

Oliver waved as he was getting in to the car.

Oliver pulled into the driveway and got out of the car. He saw a familiar car. Oliver heaved a sigh and took out his bag before he went inside.

“Ollie, where have you been?” Laurel stood with her arms crossed in the center of the foyer. “We were supposed to have dinner with my family last week. We had several appointments to look at apartments. I had to reschedule them twice. If we go right now we can make to the appointment at the Towers.”

“I'm not going.” Oliver started walking toward the stairs.

Laurel grabbed him by the arm. “Hey. I set these up so we could find a place for us.”

“I'm not moving in with you. I don't want to do this crap anymore. I don't want to see you anymore. Can you just leave me alone, for once?” Oliver pulled away from her. “Go find someone else to force into your plan for a perfect future.”

Oliver ran up the stairs and left her standing in the foyer.

“Ollie! Come back here.” Laurel shouted.

Oliver kept walking to his room without looking back.

Moira came out of the sitting room. “Laurel, what's going on?”

“Ollie is being difficult.” Laurel pouted. “He left for two weeks and now he won't go on the appointments I set up for apartment hunting.”

“Give him a few days, Laurel. He will come around.” Moira told her. “Once he gets some rest, he'll go with you.”

“I hope your right.” Laurel said. “I better reschedule the appointments again.”

“I think that's best.” Moira agreed.

Laurel left without saying anything else.

“What are those two fighting about now?” Robert asked as he came from the den.  He looked upstairs when he heard a door slam.

“She wants him to move in her and he doesn't want to go apartment hunting.” Moira shrugged. “He'll come around.”

“Moira, I don't know if pushing them together is such a good idea.” Robert looked up to the top of the stairs. “They are too young to be serious.”

Moira put her hands in the air. “He needs to grow up soon. He's getting too old to be so irresponsible.”

“I'll talk to him.” Robert said.

“Oh. That will really help.” Moira rolled her eyes and went back to the sitting room.

Robert climbed the stairs and headed to Oliver's room. He had better find out what was going on with his son.

-

Oliver walked in his room and slammed the door. He dumped his bag on the sofa and sat down on the bed. He pulled out his wallet and looked at the photo of him and Felicity.

In the photo, Felicity was sitting on his lap sipping champagne. They looked happy.

There was a knock on his door.

“Oliver, I need to talk to you.” Robert said. “Let me in.”

Oliver opened the drawer of the bedside table and put the photo inside.

Oliver got up and opened the door. “Dad, whatever Mom wants you to talk to me about I'm not really in the mood.”

“Oliver.” Robert walked in and sat down on the sofa.

“Dad.” Oliver shut the door. He folded his arms.

“Sit down. How much did you lose?” Robert asked.

“I didn't gamble.” Oliver unfolded his arms. “I got married.”

“What?” Robert gave him a questioning look. “Who did you marry?”

“Her name is Felicity.” Oliver took the photo out of the drawer and handed it to his dad.

“She's pretty.” Robert looked at the photo. “Why didn't you bring her home with you?”

“She has to go back to school. MIT.” Oliver put his bag on the floor and sat down next to his dad.

“Sounds smart. Why did she marry you?” Robert chuckled.

“It was just a prank but we really hit it off.” Oliver said. “I'm going to see her when she settles back in at school.”

“Are you sure it wasn't legal?” Robert asked.

“We didn't have a license.” Oliver told him.

“I'll still need to check on that.” Robert said.

“She didn't do it for my money. She didn't even know who I was when I married her.” Oliver said. “She was a little overwhelmed when she realized I was a billionaire.”

“So if you didn't gamble, what did you do?” Robert asked.

“We went shopping and sightseeing. We just had fun.” Oliver shrugged. “We had a typical honeymoon.”

“You had sex with her.” Robert handed the photo back to him. “You mother will not be pleased.”

“She and Laurel are driving me crazy.” Oliver said. “Felicity and I talked a lot. I feel like I know her better than I do Laurel. Felicity listens. Laurel never listens. She just tells me what we are doing and expects me to be a good little boy and do as she says.”

“Sounds like Laurel acts more like your mother than your girlfriend.” Robert said. “I see your problem.”

“Dad, I want to keep seeing Felicity. I'm going to need the jet.” Oliver looked at the photo.

“I'm good with that. Your mother, on the other hand, may not be so good with it.” Robert said. “You know, I'm going to China. Why don't you come with me? I'm going to take out the Gambit.”

“Okay.” Oliver smiled. “I'll tell Felicity when she calls. She is going to call before she leaves for school.”

“Maybe, you can bring her something back from China.” Robert stood up and patted Oliver on the shoulder. “I can't wait to meet my daughter in law.”

“Thanks for understanding.” Oliver smiled. “I’ll tell her that you want to meet her.”

-

Felicity spent the day packing for MIT. She was just closing her last suitcase when Donna knocked on the on the open door.

“Hey Baby. I just wanted to see if you needed anything before I left for work.” Donna smiled at her.

“I'm okay.” Felicity said as she sat down on the bed.

“You don't look okay.” Donna came and sat down next to her on the bed. “If you need me to stay, I can call in sick.”

“No don't do that.” Felicity said. She pulled on the bracelet on her wrist.

“What's that?” Donna asked.

“Oliver bought it for me. It has our initials on it. There's a little Eiffel tower too.” Felicity held up her wrist to show her the bracelet.

“I see dice and a heart too. But what is the crown for?” Donna asked.

“I'm a Queen.” Felicity said with a smile. She looked at her wedding ring.

“That's sweet.” Donna said. “He really knew how to charm you.”

“No Mom. I'm Felicity Queen.” Felicity said.

“What?” Donna frowned.

“My husband is Oliver Queen.” Felicity said.

Donna eyes widened. “I know that name. Why do I know that name?”

“He is in the news a lot for partying.” Felicity said. “He and his friend Tommy Merlyn are notorious.”

“There's another reason to not marry someone you don't know.” Donna looked at her. “He's trouble.”

Felicity played with the bracelet. “So was Cooper.”

“That's a name that I could go my entire life without hearing again.” Donna sighed dramatically.

“Mom, I loved him.” Felicity said.

“Do you love this Oliver to?” Donna asked.

“I don't know. I do have feelings for him. It’s hard not to.” Felicity said.

“Felicity, I think you should take off that bracelet and that ring and go back to MIT and find a nice boy who isn't a notorious playboy or a criminal.” Donna said. She hugged Felicity. “I got to get to work.”

“Thanks Mom. I'll send you a text when I get to the airport.” Felicity hugged her back.

“Thanks Baby and be careful.” Donna kissed her on the cheek. “Listen to your Mom. Take them off.”

Felicity nodded. “Happy tips, Mom.”

Donna waved as she got up and left Felicity sitting alone in her room.

Felicity heard the front door close a few minutes later.

Felicity looked at her wrist and started to take off the bracelet. She hesitated for a moment then clasped it back on. It was a good memory and she wanted to keep it.

Felicity took off her wedding ring. She went to the closet and took down the box with the wedding album and the wooden keepsake box. She opened the box and put her ring in with Oliver’s.

She started to put it back in the closet then changed her mind. She put it on top of the suitcases by her bedroom door.

Felicity lay down on the bed and hugged her pillow. Maybe she did love Oliver a little. She hoped that Oliver wasn’t just one more man in her life to leave her alone even though he had promised her otherwise.    

-

Felicity stood at the gate of the Las Vegas airport. She was just about to leave for MIT. She put her backpack on the floor and pulled out her phone. She pulled up Oliver's contact and looked at the photo.

Felicity missed him already. She wondered if he even remembered that she was supposed to call. She hoped he did. She dialed Oliver's number and waited for an answer.

“Hi Felicity.” Oliver answered. “I was waiting for you to call.”

“Hi Oliver. I'm just about to get on the plane. I wanted to check in.” Felicity looked around while she was on the phone.

“I'm glad you called. Dad wants me to go with him to China. I may be gone for a few weeks.”

“Why so long?” Felicity frowned.

“We're taking the boat. We have a yacht called the Queen’s Gambit.” Oliver told her. “I told him about you. He said I can borrow the jet any time. He also said you were pretty.”

Felicity smiled. “I guess he has the same taste in women as you do.”

“Maybe.” Oliver laughed. “Do you want me to bring you something from China?”

“A fan or one of those lanterns.” Felicity said. She looked at the arrival board. “I don't have long. They just posted my flight.”

“I'll call when we leave.” Oliver said. “As soon as I get back, I'm coming to see you.”

“You know that I live in the dorm. I have to sneak you in. I’m going to have to hide you in the closet.” Felicity teased.

“We are getting a nice expensive hotel room.” Oliver said. “Champagne and room service. Oh and no studying.”

“No studying!? Oh, that is so not fair.” Felicity pouted.

“You'll need a break and some pampering.” Oliver told her. “Before you complain, I just want to remind you that I'm your husband. It’s my job to take care of you. That includes spoiling you.”

“Oh yeah.” Felicity laughed. “I'm not going to complain at all. So there.”

There was an announcement for boarding on Felicity's flight.

“Oliver I have to go. Call me before you leave.” Felicity told him. She picked up her backpack. “I love you.”

“I love you too. I'll talk to you as soon as I can.” Oliver told her.

“Okay 'bye.” Felicity disconnected and headed for the gate.

Oliver looked up from his phone and saw Thea looking at him.

“So if you broke up with Laurel, who were you just saying ‘I love you’ to? Thea looked at him and tapped her foot. “Are you and Laurel back together?”

“I'm not back with Laurel.” Oliver told her.

“Mom isn't going to like that.” Thea teased him.

“I am aware.” Oliver said. “I'm going on a trip with Dad so Mom will have time to cool off.”

“You hope.” Thea walked up the stairs. “It might just make her madder.”

“Speedy, way to have my back!.” Oliver called after her.

Thea just laughed as she reached the top of the steps. 

Robert came to the door of the sitting room and waved Oliver inside. “Oliver, come in here a minute.”

“What is it, Dad?” Oliver asked.

“I need you to get ready to go. We are going to leave in the morning.” Robert told him. “Who have you told that we were going to China?”

“Just Felicity. Thea knows we’re going on a trip but I don’t think she knows to where.” Oliver said. “If you’re worried about Felicity telling anyone, she won’t.”

“I’m not worried about your girl.” Robert said. “Have you told Tommy?”

“No.” Oliver said.

“Don’t tell him.” Robert said. He realized he needed to cover or Oliver would get suspicious. “I want to get out of here without him tagging along. I want it to be just the two of us.”

“I think he’s in trouble with his dad right now. He lost a lot in Las Vegas. He won’t be going anywhere for a while.” Oliver told him.

Robert nodded. “Still, let’s keep it quiet.”

“Got it, Dad.” Oliver said. “I better go pack.”

Robert nodded and poured himself another drink. He watched Oliver go up to pack.

-

Early the next morning, Oliver and Robert headed toward the marina. The crew was loading the supplies as they arrived.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Moira said. She had come along to see them off. “Why don’t you just take the jet?”

“We are going to have one last sail before the weather changes.” Robert said. “You aren’t going to make us feel guilty for a little male bonding time. Come on Moira. Let the old man take the boat out with the boy.”

“Fine.” Moira held up her hands in surrender. “Don’t stay too long and be careful. You know how the weather changes on the open ocean this time of year.”

“We’ll be fine, Mom.” Oliver kissed his mother on the cheek. He spotted Laurel coming towards them. “What is she doing here?”

“I told her you were leaving with your father. I suppose she is here to see you off.” Moira said.

“With a duffle bag?” Robert looked at his wife. “She isn’t coming along.”

“I’ll handle it.” Oliver said. He started walking down the dock. “Laurel!”

“Hi Ollie. I heard you were taking another trip. I thought I’d tag along this time.” Laurel said.

“You can’t come. This is a Queen Men only trip.” Oliver told her. “You need to go.”

“Will I see you when you get back?” Laurel pouted.

“No. Laurel, I’m not your boyfriend anymore.” Oliver said. “I thought I made that clear.”

“Whatever Ollie.” Laurel turned and stormed off down the dock.

“That was not cool, Mom.” Oliver said as he walked up to his parents next to the boat. “I’m not going to take her back. So stop pushing her at me.”

Robert looked at Oliver as he picked up his bag and got on the boat. “Well, that was unexpected. I guess he finally made himself clear to both of you.”

Moira watched as Oliver disappeared inside the boat. “I wonder what happened to him on that trip with Tommy. He seems different.”

“He fell in love.” Robert said.

“He’s young. He’ll grow out of it.” Moira turned to her husband. “You did.”

-

Oliver sat on the bed in his cabin and dialed Felicity’s number. He waited for her to answer.

“Hello.” Felicity sounded sleepy.

“It’s Oliver.” Oliver winced. “Hey. Did I wake you up?”

“Yeah but it’s okay. Are you leaving now?” 

“They’re loading the supplies on the boat now. I miss you.”  Oliver looked around his cabin.

“I miss you too. I woke up yesterday and reached out for you. I guess I got used to sleeping with you beside me.”

“We’ll be back together soon.” Oliver told. “I think something is up with Dad. He didn’t want me to tell Tommy that I was going to China with him.”

“Maybe, he just wants some bonding time. Mom gets like that when she hasn’t seen me in a while. I think she was a little disappointed that I didn’t spend any time at home this trip.”

“I guess I should send her flowers.” Oliver said. “She is my mother in law after all.”

“Oliver, we need to talk when you get here. We may have a problem. “Felicity sounded serious.

“What is it?” Oliver got suddenly worried.

“Not on the phone. I’ll tell you when you come see me.”

“Okay. I’ll try to get Dad to hurry back. If he doesn’t I’ll take a flight home. I don’t want to stay away from you too long.” Oliver promised her.

“Oliver, we’re shoving off.” Robert called down the hallway.

“We’re leaving. I’m going to lose the signal so I had better go. I love you.” Oliver told her.

“I love you too. Hurry back.” Felicity blew a kiss into the phone.

“I will.” Oliver smiled and disconnected the call and turned off his phone. He stuck it in the drawer by the bed. He started to count the days until he could back to Felicity.      


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Three days later, at two in the morning, Felicity’s phone rang. Felicity reached over to answer it. She was working on her grad school project. She frowned when she saw it was Ginger. She was about to let it go the voice mail because she was busy but something told her that she should answer the call.

“Ginger, why are you calling at two in the morning?” Felicity asked as soon as the call connected. “Don’t you have some studying to do?”

“Are you studying?” Ginger hesitated. “I thought…”

“I’m working on my project for grad school. What’s up?” Felicity was getting a strange feeling when she heard Ginger’s tone.

“Felicity, have you seen the national news?” 

“No. I’ve been really busy with this project. Why?” Felicity was concerned now.

“Pull up the news feed and don’t hang up. Please.”

“Okay.” Felicity put the phone on speaker and put it on the bed. She pulled up the national news feed. The headline jumped out at her like an arrow through her heart.

_“Robert Queen and son lost at sea.”_

“No! That can’t be true.” Felicity quickly scanned the article. “No! He can’t be dead. He was coming to see me. We were going to be together again.”

“Felicity, I’m sorry.” Ginger said over the line. “I know you and he cared for each other.”

“We loved each other.” Felicity said. She picked up the phone and yelled into it. “We loved each other. Do you hear me?”

“Yes Felicity, I hear you. If you want me to come up, I can.”

“No. I want to be alone.” Felicity disconnected the call. “I’m always going to be alone.”

Felicity thumbed through her contacts to find Oliver’s number. She pulled up another screen on the laptop and she hacked a database and found the carrier for the number. Then, she proceeded to hack his phone records. She had to talk to someone who would give her answers.

She looked at the call log for the day he left Las Vegas and found the number she was looking for.

Felicity dialed Tommy Merlyn’s number.

“Hello? Who is this?” Tommy’s voice answered.

“Tommy, its Honey. Oliver’s Honey. I was wondering what … Tommy, is he really dead?” Felicity fought her tears.

“God. I’m so sorry, Honey. They searched the area where the boat went down. They didn’t find any survivors. Nobody. No crew. No Oliver or his dad. Everybody is in shock.”

“Do they know how it happened?” Felicity asked.

“They said the boat got caught in a storm. They said there are a lot of storms in the ocean this time of year. A wave must have capsized the boat and it sank. Oliver and his Dad were probably asleep because the mayday came in near midnight.”

“Oh God.” Felicity felt sick. The thought of Oliver drowning in his sleep was too much for her to take. She finally started to cry.  

“I think there’s going to be a memorial service. I can call you with the details so you can come out.”

“I don’t have any money for a plane ticket.” Felicity wiped her tears and tried to stop crying. “Tommy could you do me a favor? Could you put a red rose on his … grave for me?”

“Sure Honey. I’ll do it. But if you want to come I can send the jet for you.

“I don’t think his family needs some stranger sobbing on his grave. It would look strange especially since they don’t know my connection to Oliver.” Felicity took a breath.  “Just do the favor for me.”

“I promise.” Tommy sighed. “Oliver loved you, you know. More than he has ever loved anyone before. He would want me to remind you of that.”  

“Thanks Tommy.” Felicity disconnected the call and turned off her phone and put it on the floor with her laptop.

Felicity curled up into a ball and sobbed until she gave into the exhaustion and went to sleep.       

-

It had been almost three months since the Gambit sank when Felicity heard a knock on her dorm room door.  

“Hey Felicity.” Ginger smiled when Felicity opened the door of her dorm room. She was standing there with a weekend bag and nearly frozen fingers.

“I'm glad to see you. I’m glad you came to visit. I’ve been feeling a little lonely lately.” Felicity hugged her. “How was the drive?”

“Long and chilly.” Ginger said. “Don't you long for the dessert? It’s too cold up here.”

“When it’s cold like this, I dream of it.” Felicity said. “It doesn’t help me stay warm though.”

“You look kinda sick. Do you still have the flu?” Ginger put her bag on the bed.

“It won't go away. I’ve had it for a couple of weeks now.” Felicity sat on the bed.

Ginger opened her bag and pulled out a pregnancy test. She put it on the bed next to Felicity. “Take it.”

“I'm not... Oh god.” Felicity put her hand over her mouth. “I can't be.”

“Oh really? Because I remember you saying that you and Oliver didn't use condoms.” Ginger pointed to the test. “Take it.”

Felicity wiped a tear from her cheek and nodded. She picked up the test and headed for the bathroom.

Ginger sat on the bed to wait for Felicity to come back.

Felicity came back holding the stick and her phone. “It needs time to do ....whatever it does.”

“Sit with me and wait.” Ginger patted the bed beside her.

Felicity sat down and watched the timer on her phone.

Ginger put her bag on the floor and took off her coat. She waited in silence with her friend.

The timer went off and they both looked at the stick.

“Oh God.” Felicity shook her head. “That can't be right. I can't be pregnant. It says I'm pregnant. Ginger, I can't be pregnant.”

Ginger pulled her over and hugged her. Felicity pulled back after a while.

“I'll go with you to the clinic.” Ginger told her.

Felicity nodded. “I guess I should get the baby checked out.”

“You're going to have it?” Ginger asked. “You and I both were raised by single moms. You really want that baby to go through what we did?”

“This baby is all I have left of Oliver. I'm not going to..... hurt it.” Felicity looked appalled.

“Okay but you have to call his family. They have to know you're having his baby.” Ginger told her. “Do you have a number to call?”

“I have no proof the baby is his. They wouldn't believe me.” Felicity shook her head. “I don't have a way to contact them anyway.”

“What about Tommy? Didn't you call him after Oliver was lost?” Ginger asked.

“I'm not calling Tommy. It’s not his problem.” Felicity said. “I have to take care of this baby by myself.”

“When are you calling you're mom?” Ginger asked.

“Not yet.” Felicity looked at the stick again. “I need figure out a way to tell her so that she doesn't freak out.”

“There isn't any way to tell her that she won't freak out.” Ginger said. “Do you want me to tell her?”

“Oh God! No!” Felicity said. “I'll tell her when I'm ready.”

“Don't wait too long.” Ginger said. “You don't want to be big as a house when you tell her.”

Felicity sighed. She put her hand on her still flat belly. “I wonder what I'm having. I wonder who it will look like.”

“It will look like a baby with a single mom.” Ginger said.

“I'm not a single mom. I’m a widow.” Felicity told her. “We were legally married.”

“What?” Ginger looked at her. “It was a prank.”

“It was legal. When I got home there was a marriage certificate waiting for me. Oliver and I were really married.” Felicity said. “Now my husband is dead so I’m a widow.”

“Does his family know?” Ginger asked.

“No. Only Mom and now you. That's the way it has to stay.” Felicity said. “I was going to tell Oliver when he came for the weekend but …”

Ginger shook her head. “If this ever gets out, it’s going to blow up in your face. His family may try to take the baby.”

“I know. That’s why I can’t contact them and tell them who I am and that I’m having Oliver’s baby.” Felicity said.

-

It was the night before spring break, almost everyone had left campus by then so when Felicity heard a knock at the door she was startled.

“Who’s there?” Felicity called out.

“It’s your mother. Now open the door.” Donna called out from the other side.

Felicity took a deep breath and went to open the door. She opened the door and watched her mother realize she was pregnant. “Hi Mom.”

“Don’t you ‘Hi Mom’ me, Felicity Megan Smoak. I see Ginger was telling the truth. You’re pregnant?” Donna pointed at her belly. “Who is the father? Is it some computer geek?”

“It’s Oliver’s.” Felicity said as she sat on the bed.

“Oliver?” Donna was confused for a minute. “Oliver who?”

“Oliver, my husband.” Felicity said.

“The dead husband?” Donna sat down next to her on the bed.

“I don’t have any other husbands, Mom.” Felicity said.  

“Is his family going to help with the expenses?” Donna asked. “Babies are expensive.”

“I haven’t contacted his family. They don’t even know that we were married.” Felicity said. “I’m going to do this on my own.”

“Felicity, maybe you should think about giving the baby up for adoption.” Donna said gently. “You haven’t finished school yet.”

“I have figured it out. I can take summer classes and be done in December.” Felicity said. “With my two masters’ degrees, I can score a good job in no time.”  

“Really? The first few months with a baby are really hard even when you have help. Are you sure you can keep your grades up to keep your scholarship?” Donna looked worried.

“I have to. I don’t have a choice here. This baby is all I have left of him and I’m not giving her up.” Felicity was determined. “I will do whatever I have to.”  

“Her? It’s a girl?” Donna was suddenly all smiles.

“Yeah. I’m going to name her Anna Olivia. I hope she looks like her Daddy.” Felicity said. “She would have been his little Queen.”     

“You’re going to have to tell her all about him.” Donna said. “I’ll help you as much as I can. You know that.”

“I know. There is something that I want you to help me with. I have to leave the dorm. I can’t have a baby here. There is a boarding house that was set up for college students with children. I have already got a room reserved for the end of the semester. I need you to help me move in and get set up for the baby. Will you help me?” Felicity asked.

“I can do that. I can stay until the baby comes if you want. I have been saving up my days off. Louise and I were going to go on a singles cruise.” Donna offered.

“I still have some time.” Felicity said. “When you come to help me move in, you can stay until the baby is born.”

“Tell me about this place that you’re going to. Is it nice?” Donna hugged her.

“It used to be a home for unwed mothers.” Felicity watched her mother’s expression change. “Well, it was in the ‘50’s. Now it’s just a boarding house.”

“I heard of those places. I knew a girl in high school who went to one. She put her baby up for adoption. The football player that knocked her up swore it wasn’t his.” Donna told her. “She was never the same after.”  

“It’s not like that anymore. It’s in an old mansion.” Felicity told her. “They have converted the ballroom into a daycare. I will have to do some shifts there in exchange for the baby staying there. The rent covers utilities and it’s really not much. The food bill is split by the number of people eating. I have to cover my own baby supplies but if I run out of diapers or wipes, they have a stash as long as I replace what I take.”  

“Do you have to share a bathroom?” Donna asked.

“No. All the rooms have their own bathrooms and a fridge and microwave.” Felicity told her.

“Good. You’ll need those for the bottles.” Donna said. “And snacks.”  

“I’m going to breast feed, Mom. There won’t be many bottles at first.” Felicity told her. “I’ve read about it and its better for the baby.”

“It’s also free. Do you need a crib or anything?” Donna looked off into space. “I should throw you a shower.”

“I can use one of their cribs but a shower might be nice. Just family. I want to celebrate her. Just because her father is dead, I don’t want her to think that we’re alone.” Felicity said.

“I’ll plan it.” Donna nodded and looked at her daughter. “Now for the reason I’m here. You can’t stay here for spring break and before you say ‘no’, this is the last fun you’re going to have for a while after the baby is born.

Felicity knew there was no way she was getting out of this so she decided to make the best of it. “What do you have planned?”

“Aunt Louise and I are taking you and Ginger to Atlantic City.” Donna bounced on the bed.

“Atlantic City?” Felicity said. “Mom, that’s like Vegas on the east coast.”

Donna sighed. “We have a free penthouse suite. Everything is comped. We are going to have some fun.”

“How?” Felicity asked. “What did you have to do to get everything comped?”

“I didn’t do anything. Your Aunt Louise is doing a hotel mogul.” Donna winked at her.

“I think I’m going to be sick.” Felicity said.

-

Weeks later, Felicity pushed herself off the bed and grabbed her bag. “Mom, I have one last final then I can relax until the baby is born.”

“Be careful. Do you want me to drive you over?” Donna asked.

“No. The doctor said that walking is good for me.” Felicity kissed her on the cheek and left.

Donna finished packing up then started to load the car to take everything over to the new place. Ginger and Louise were on their way. They would be there later that day.

Felicity sat down in the front row of the lecture hall and took out her pencils. This was the last final of the semester. She looked around and everyone looked nervous. She thought it was funny because she was the one with a human about to come out of her and they were just worried about a grade.

The teaching assistant passed out the tests and they all got started. Professor Danvers looked on from the front of the room.

One by one everyone finished and left until Felicity was the last one there.

“Ms. Smoak? Time’s up.” The professor walked over to her. “I have to take your test now.”

“I’m done. I just didn’t want to stand up yet.” Felicity handed the test over. “My back hurts. Could you help me up?”

“Of course.” Professor Danvers smiled. “Won’t be long now, will it? I’ve been through this three times with my wife and she always has such a hard time getting up and down at the end.”

“Thanks.” Felicity let the older man help her to her feet. “No it wo…”

“Ms. Smoak, are you all right?” The professor looked around for his teaching assistant. “Peter, come here.”

“Oh wow.” Felicity looked down at the floor. “My water broke.”

The teaching assistant came over to where they were standing. “What’s up?”

“Peter call 911.” Professor Danvers said. “It seems Ms. Smoak is about to give birth.”

“Wait! Just let me call my mom. I don’t want any fuss. My mom’s here in town and there is plenty of time.” Felicity let the professor ease her back down into the chair. “I think.”

“Fine but I will wait with you.” Professor Danvers said. “You shouldn’t be alone.”

Donna was there within minutes and whisked Felicity off to the hospital. They were taken straight to a room to wait when they got there.

“Hello there.” The admitting nurse smiled at her as she walked in. “May I have your name?”

“Felicity Queen.” Felicity said right before she winced from a contraction.

The nurse wrote it down and looked around the room. “Is the baby’s father on the way, Ms. Queen?”

“Its Mrs. Queen and he isn’t coming. My husband is dead.” Felicity said.

The nurse wasn’t expecting that response. “I’m so sorry. Do you have someone to go into delivery with you?”

“I’m going to do that. I’m her mom.” Donna spoke up. “My name is Donna Smoak.”

Felicity looked at the nurse. “I pre-registered.”

The nurse went to look at something on the computer by the door. “Oh! I have you right here. You’re having a little girl.”

“That’s us.” Donna said.   

“The doctor will be with you in a few minutes. He is just finishing up with another delivery.” The nurse said.

The nurse left the room and Donna could see her down the hall talking with some other nurses and looking back at them.

“Well, I guess we are the talk of the place.” Donna said. “She must be telling them your name.”

“Or that I’m a widow at eighteen.” Felicity sobbed. “Oliver should be here mom. He should see his little girl being born.”

“I know, Baby, but he can’t. I do think that he is watching over the two of you.” Donna said. “It’s all he can do now.”       


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Felicity was surprised to hear from Professor Danvers two days after the first summer session started. He asked her to come see him in his office.

Felicity knocked at the door and heard a friendly come in from the other side.

“Oh Ms. Smoak. I’ve been expecting you.” The professor said. “I saw that you had put in an application for teaching assistant and I was wondering if anyone had snatched you up yet.”

“No. I decided not to take classes this summer session but I’m still tutoring.” Felicity told him. “I thought I had to be enrolled to be a TA.”

“Well, technically, you do but Peter left school for a job at Mircrosoft and I’m without one at the moment. This is strictly a private arrangement until you start classes again.” Professor Danvers told her. “Do you want the job, Ms. Smoak?”

“Yes but how long will you need me? Is it just for the summer or will it be in the fall too?” Felicity asked.

The professor thought for a moment. “When do you graduate?”

“Next May.” Felicity told him.

“Then the job will be yours until next May.” Professor Danvers said.

“Okay. Is this a paid position or just for my resume?” Felicity hoped she didn’t offend him but she needed the money not the credit.

“Paid. I will cover your salary until you are officially a student again. You will be a student again, correct?” Professor Danvers gave her a pointed look.

“Yes. I thought I could take classes right after the baby came but she is a little more demanding than I anticipated.” Felicity said. “I will be taking classes next summer session.”

“So you decided to raise the baby on your own. I had wondered about that.” The professor said. “It’s very brave of you.”

“She is all I have left of her father. He died before I found out I was pregnant. He and I were actually married.” Felicity told him.

“You’re very young to be married and even younger to be a widow. What do your parents think of all of this? They can’t be happy.” The professor looked concerned.

“It’s just my mom. She wasn’t happy but she loves her granddaughter.” Felicity smiled. “If Mom and I lived closer, she would spoil her constantly.”

“And his parents?” The professor asked.

“His mom is a widow too. The same accident that killed my husband also killed his father. I didn’t tell her that I had a baby. I don’t even think she knew we were married. We eloped suddenly.” Felicity said. “It was one of those impulses that we knew we probably shouldn’t have followed but we did it anyway.”

“You might want to reconsider telling his mother at some point. She may want to spoil your daughter too.” Professor Danvers said. “If you need to bring your baby with you from time to time, it will be okay. I know childcare can be difficult to come by. I would also like to see your daughter since she was almost born in my lecture hall.”

“I’ll bring her by.” Felicity smiled. “I want to thank you for helping me that day and for this opportunity.”

“I’m the lucky one. If you had been enrolled, I bet Professor Smythe would have hired you. I doubt anyone would have been happy with that arrangement.” Professor Danvers smiled.

Felicity made a face. “That’s putting it mildly.”

Professor Danvers laughed.

-

It was a sunny day in April when Professor Danvers walked into his outer office and smiled when he saw the portable crib. He walked over and took a look inside. Anna was asleep with a pink stuffed bunny. “She’s getting so big, Felicity.”

“I know and she’s a handful.” Felicity looked up from the stack of papers she was grading. “I can’t believe she is almost a year old.”

“You’ll be leaving us soon. Maureen and I will miss this little cupcake.” Professor Danvers smiled sadly. “It seems like just yesterday you were going into labor in my lecture hall.”  

“I promise to send pictures. She’s going to miss being spoiled by her Uncle Paul and Aunt Maureen.” Felicity chuckled. “I really appreciate all that you and your wife have done for us. The baby clothes and the job and everything else were more than what I expected.”

“It’s nothing. We enjoyed it.” Professor Danvers smiled. “When is your mother coming to go with you to Starling City?”

“In a few weeks, I will have until the end of June at the boarding house. There isn’t anyone wanting to get in right away.” Felicity told him. “My friend, Ginger is coming to keep me company and help me pack as soon as she takes her last final.”

“I am going to miss you both.” Professor Danvers suddenly got choked up. “You’re the best TA I have ever had.”

“I doubt that but I’m going to miss you and your family. I am so honored that you let me be a part of it for a while.” Felicity started to tear up a little.

The professor was so emotional that he couldn’t speak. He just patted Felicity on the shoulder and went back into his office.

-

Just a week later, there was a knock on the door of her room at the boarding house.

“Felicity, are you in there?”

Felicity opened the door. “Hi Joan. What’s up?

“There is a girl downstairs. She says that she knows you and wants to talk to you. It’s so weird she looks like that girl from Gilligan’s Island.” Joan said.

“Ginger is down stairs. I wasn’t expecting her until tomorrow morning. She’s here for a visit.” Felicity looked at Anna, sleeping in the crib. “Send her up but tell her to be quiet. The baby is sleeping.”

“Does she still have a fever?” Joan asked. “They all have that nasty cold. You’re lucky you only have one. I have two with the damn thing.”   

“The fever is finally gone but I just got her to sleep and I have tons of studying to do.” Felicity looked at her books and sighed. “I didn’t think it would be this hard.”

“Wait until she starts asking where her father is. At least you know where her father is, I have no clue where Bob is at the moment and no way to reach him, if I need him.” Joan shook her head. “Damn military. If we were married, I would be in base housing.”

Felicity hugged Joan suddenly. “He will be fine. Now go tell Ginger to get up here.”

“Sure.” Joan hugged her back and went down to send up Ginger.

Felicity waited at the door for Ginger to come up.

“Wow! This is a really swanky place.” Ginger looked around. “Just the kind of place the widow of a billionaire would live in.”

“Sh! Don’t say that here.” Felicity shut the door. “I use my maiden name and it’s not like his family knows about me.”

“Have you even tried to call them?” Ginger asked.

“No. They won’t help me. I don’t have any proof that she is his.” Felicity said. “I did get a letter from the family company a few weeks ago. It’s called Queen Consolidated. They offered me a job in the IT department.”

“I thought you were taking the job offer from Wayne Industries.” Ginger said. “You know, in Gotham where we could both be together.”

“You are still a few years away from the bar, Ginger.” Felicity said. “What would I do there while you finished?”

“I only have two more years of law school. It’s not my fault you’re a genius and you started college super early.” Ginger leaned over the crib. “She has grown since I saw her last. Anna must look like her father because she doesn’t look like you.”

“She looks a lot like his sister. I pulled up some photos of the family and started to compare them to her.” Felicity walked over to the laptop and pulled up a photo. “This is his sister, Thea.”

“Wow. I see it now.” Ginger came over and looked at the photo. “Hey. If you take the job at Queen Consolidated, how will you explain why your baby looks like the family who owns the place?”

“I don’t know.” Felicity said. “I am going to take it. I already accepted their offer. That way I will be close to the family if something should happen to me. I also want her to be able to have some contact with them. It will help when I tell her who she really is when she’s older.”

“Remember when I told you this would blow up in your face? Well the timer is almost to zero and there is going to be a really big crater if you take that job.” Ginger said.  

“I think you’re over reacting.” Felicity said. “Enough about my life. Tell me about the new boyfriend. His name is Jeff, right?”

“Jeff and I are madly in love and he asked me to marry him. I said ‘yes’. Will you be my maid of honor?” Ginger asked.

“I would be pleased to be your matron of honor. I was married remember. I guess I’m just returning the favor since you were at my wedding.” Felicity said.

“We should celebrate. Do you have anything to drink in here?” Ginger looked around.

“No but there is soda in the fridge.” Felicity went to the fridge and got out two cans of soda. She handed one to Ginger.   

“I guess this will have to do.” Ginger said as she looked at the can. 

Felicity raised her soda to make a toast. “To love and marriage.”

“To love and marriage.” Ginger clinked her can to Felicity’s. “I hope Jeff loves me like Oliver loved you but only for a longer time.”

“Yeah we weren’t even married a month before he was killed.” Felicity took a sip. “I wonder what my life would have been like if he had never gotten on that boat.”

“You would have a nanny and a nice apartment. You wouldn’t have to work and you could finish school and do whatever you wanted with your degree.” Ginger said. “It’s not fair what happened to you and Oliver.”

“No its not.” Felicity said. “Just do me a favor and cherish your husband. You never know when things will disappear in a heartbeat.”

-

In the middle of May, Donna didn’t even knock when she burst in with her luggage. She looked around at the boxes and sighed at the mess.

“Hi Mom.” Felicity said as she sealed the box she had just finished packing.

“Hello Aunt Donna.” Ginger popped up from behind a stack of boxes.

“Where is my grandbaby?” Donna looked around. “You didn’t put her in one of these boxes, did you?

“She’s down in the daycare room. I’ll get her in a few. She was getting into everything so I thought I better get her out of here until we finished packing.” Felicity told her.

“Is this it? I thought there would be more.” Donna mentally counted the boxes. “We are going to need a smaller truck than I thought. I had loads of baby things when I moved the first time.”

“I kept a few things. The outfit I brought her home in and the dress you gave her for her holiday photos. I have some things that she is wearing now but all of the smaller clothes went to the house stash. I did keep all of her blankets and toys but there isn’t much of that either.” Felicity told her.

“I bought you toys and things all the time.” Donna sat down on the sofa.

“I’m a poor college student, Mom.” Felicity said. “I count about a dozen boxes. Do we really need a truck? I was thinking a small van, maybe.”

“What about the furniture?” Donna asked as she patted the sofa and frowned.

“It all belongs to the house except the crib mattress. I bought a new one of those as soon as I could.” Felicity said. “The ones that the house has are really old.”

“So about a dozen boxes and a crib mattress is all that you have?” Donna frowned. “You’re going to need a lot of things when you get to Starling City.”

“It’s a studio apartment. All I need is a futon and a used crib. Those are pretty cheap, right?” Felicity said.

Donna sighed. “I never wanted this for you. I wanted you to be married and happy not a single mom with just a dozen boxes and a crib mattress to her name.”

“Mom, I’ll be fine. The salary is really good and there’s insurance and in house daycare.” Felicity said as she sat down and leaned against her mom. “I’ll save and get what I can when I can.”

“I still say you should tell his family.” Ginger said from the other side of the boxes. “Especially since you will be working for them.”

“What is she talking about?” Donna asked.

“The company I’m going to work at belongs to Oliver’s family.” Felicity told her. “I wanted to be close to his family so that Anna can get to know them before I tell her that she’s related.”

Donna looked at her. “Is that why you wanted the fake birth certificate and the other things from Floyd?”

Donna knew Floyd forged documents and he owed her a favor. She had everything made for Felicity to use to conceal Anna’s identity.

“Yes.” Felicity said. “I think it’s better that they don’t know right away.”

“Boom!” Ginger said from where she was.

Felicity sighed in frustration.  

-

It was less than a week later when Felicity sat across from Ms. Gibson, the HR head hunter, at Queen Consolidated. She smiled as she signed the employment contract. She was a full-fledged member of the IT department as of that moment.  

“That should do it. We just need the background check to come back and you're set.” The woman smiled at her.

“Background check?” Felicity asked. “I didn’t realize there would be a background check.”

“It’s a formality to make sure you have no criminal record.” The woman said.

“Oh!” Felicity said. She didn't have a record but she knew there was much more than that to a background check. “I guess I will wait for your call.”

“No need. It should take just a day. You need to report to Security first thing Monday morning. Ms. Smoak. From what I see, the IT department is lucky to have you.” Ms. Gibson stood up and held out her hand.

Felicity stood up and shook her hand. “Thank you. Um. What about signing up for daycare for my daughter?”

“Security will give you a visitor’s pass for you to do that. You should probably take care of that tomorrow.” Ms. Gibson said. “Bring her with you if you like. See you on Monday Ms. Smoak.”

“Thank you again.” Felicity walked out and went to the lobby. She gave them the visitor’s pass back and went out of the building.

Two hours later, Mr. Jackson from security walked into Moira Queen's office.

“Mr. Jackson, I hear you want to see me about something.” Moira said as she sat at her desk.

“Yes. I have something you may want to see. I was running background checks for the new hires. One of new hires had something come up that surprised me.” Mr. Jackson handed her a file.

Moira took the file and opened it. She looked through the information and saw why he was there. “Is this correct?”

“I checked it twice myself.” Mr. Jackson said. “Did you know about this?”

“No I didn't.” Moira said. She closed the file.

“What do you want me to do?” Mr. Jackson asked.

“Take my son's name and the place where they were married off of this. Put that her husband is deceased.” Moira told him. “If anyone asks questions tell them it was all the information you could find. Are you the only one that's seen this?”

“I was the only one doing the background checks. You want me to clear her?” Mr. Jackson asked.

“Yes. I do.” Moira handed him the file. “Destroy this copy. I don't want anyone else to see it.”

“What about her daughter?” Mr. Jackson asked as he took the file from her.

“Daughter?” Moira blinked in surprised.

“She has a year old daughter. She was told to come tomorrow to sign her up for daycare.” Mr. Jackson told her.

“Do you know when?” Moira asked.

“Her appointment is at nine.” He told her.

“I guess I just have to be there to see this child.” Moira shrugged.

“Do you think the child is your son's?” Mr. Jackson asked.

“I will worry about that. Go take care of this and I will take care of that.” Moira told him. “Please, don’t tell anyone what you found.”

“Yes Mrs. Queen.” Mr. Jackson left her office.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Promptly at nine on Friday morning, Felicity came into Queen Consolidated with Anna. She went up to the security desk. “I'm Felicity Smoak and this is my daughter. I'm here to enroll her in daycare.”

“I see you on the schedule. Ms. Smoak.” The guard handed her a pass. “It’s right over there. Just follow that hallway.”

“Thanks. Come on Anna.” Felicity smiled at her daughter and took the pass and walked to the daycare.

The guard picked up the phone and called Mrs. Queen's office. “Marilyn, this is the front desk. Mrs. Queen wanted me to tell her when Ms. Smoak arrived. … Okay.”

The guard hung up the phone and went back to monitoring security feeds.

Ten minutes later, Moira Queen came out of the elevator and headed toward daycare.

Things weren’t going very well so far in daycare. Anna clung to Felicity and refused to let go every time one of the caregivers tried to get her to come to them. Ann was having a full on crying fit when Moira Queen came around the corner.

“I'm sorry. She's usually a lot more friendly.” Felicity said as she tried to settle Anna down. “We came cross country and I think she is a little tired with the time change and all.” 

“May I try?” Moira asked. She held out her hands to Anna.

“She's really ....” Felicity was surprised that Anna reached for Moira as soon as she saw her. “Oh!”

“Come here little one.” Moira took her out of Felicity's arms. “Hello.”

“Um. Hi. I'm Felicity Smoak and that is my daughter Anna. I'm new here.” Felicity said to the woman she knew was Moira Queen.

Teresa the care worker at the desk cleared her throat. “Mrs. Queen, it’s nice to see you. We have been trying to get Anna to come to all of us but she didn't want to.” 

“I guess I have the touch.” Moira smiled at Anna who had quieted down in her arms. “You are beautiful.”

“Ms. Smoak, we need to finish the paperwork.” Teresa said.

“Uh huh.” Felicity looked at Moira holding Anna and wished Oliver could be there to see it. She wondered if Moira even knew that she was holding her granddaughter.

“Go ahead. Anna and I will just go watch the fish tank.” Moira said.

“Okay.” Felicity nodded.

Felicity pulled out the shot records social security card and birth certificate that she had forged with the name 'Anna Smoak'.

“Will Anna's father be picking her up?” Teresa asked. “We need a photo of him if he is. It’s a security measure.”

“My husband is dead.” Felicity said loud enough for Moira to hear. “He died in an accident before I knew I was pregnant. I've been raising Anna on my own since then.”

“I'm so sorry.” Teresa said. “It looks like you have everything. The birth certificate doesn't have a father’s name.”

“I didn't put one on it.” Felicity said. “I didn’t think it mattered because he was dead.”

“I just need your signature here.” Teresa said. She pointed to a line on the bottom of the form.

“Okay.” Felicity said. She took the pen and signed the form.

“I see her allergies are strawberries and penicillin. Are there any others?” Teresa asked.

“No. Those are the only two so far. The strawberries give her a rash.” Felicity told her.  

“Ms. Smoak.” Moira walked over with Anna. “Thank you for letting me hold your daughter. She reminds me of my daughter, Thea.”

“Thank you for holding her while I got that stuff done.” Felicity said. She held out her arms for Anna.

Moira hesitated but then reluctantly gave Anna back to Felicity.

Felicity smiled. “Wave bye-bye, Anna.”

Anna waved and hid her face in Felicity’s shoulder.

“We'll see you Monday.” Teresa said.

“Ms. Smoak, I heard you tell Teresa that you're a widow.” Moira fell in step with Felicity as she walked to the lobby. “I lost my husband over a year ago. If you want to talk, I would be happy to listen.”

“Thank you for your offer but I'm doing okay. Having Anna helps.” Felicity said as they rounded the corner.

“I'm sure it does.” Moira smiled. “She’s beautiful”

“We better go so you can get back to work. Thanks for helping with Anna. She likes you.” Felicity said as they neared the front desk. She stopped at the desk. She thought for a moment. She realized what Oliver would want her to do. “If you want to visit with her when she's in daycare, it’s okay with me.”

“I would like that. My daughter is almost grown up. I would enjoy spending time with a little one like Anna.” Moira was overwhelmed with emotion. “Thank you.”

Felicity put the visitors pass on the desk and nodded to the guard. “See you Monday.”

Moira watched Felicity leave with Anna. She headed up to the executive level. When she reached her office, she sat at her desk and cried.

Walter walked in carrying a file and looked at Moira. “What happened?”

Moira stood up and went to Walter. He put the file on the desk and folded his arms around her. “Tell me what happened? Is Thea all right?”

“Thea is fine.” Moira looked up at him. “I have a granddaughter. I just held her for the first time.”

“Oliver had a child?” Walter was stunned. “I wasn’t aware that Laurel had been pregnant.”

“It’s not Laurel’s child. Oliver married someone else.” Moira wiped her tears. “He married this girl a few weeks before he died and he never knew he was going to be a father.”

“Does Thea know?” Walter asked. “Does anyone know?”

“No. and I’m not going to tell her until I know what this girl wants from the family.” Moira said. “So far, she has just been hired by the company. I will just have to keep my eye on her.”

-

It was almost a week before Moira took advantage of Felicity's offer to spend time with Anna. She walked down the hall to the daycare. She was sure it would raise eyebrows but she didn’t care. She had to find out if Anna was her granddaughter.

“Hello Mrs. Queen.” Teresa said as she looked up from the doorway of the toddler room. “I’m surprised to see you down here. Is there something I can do for you?”

“Ms. Smoak said I could visit her daughter.” Moira said. “Is it a bad time?”

“They just went down for a nap. I’m not sure if Anna is still awake. We had a very busy morning.” Teresa said at the door.

“I promise not to disturb the others. I only want to see her for a few moments. I just wanted to check on her.” Moira said.

“Okay. I’ll let you just this one time but I'll have to check with Ms. Smoak for permission before you come to visit again.” Teresa stepped aside to let Moira in.

“Thank you.” Moira looked around and could see Anna. “Where is Anna?”

“She's over there.” Teresa pointed a child on a cot next to a bookshelf.

“Thank you.” Moira smiled and quietly walked over to Anna. She couldn’t tell if she was asleep or not because she was facing the bookcase.

Anna turned on her back and reached up for Moira and pouted.

“Come here, little one.” Moira reached down and scooped her up in her arms. Moira walked over to the rocking chair in the corner of the room and sat down. “Let's rock for a bit.”

Anna settled into Moira's arms and started to rub her eyes. She started to nod off.

Moira looked over to Teresa to see if she was looking. She was happy to see the caregiver was preparing a project for later.

Moira pulled a cotton swab in a plastic bag out of her pocket. She took the swab out of the bag. She put it into Anna's mouth and swabbed her cheek. She put the swab back the bag and shoved it in her pocket.

“There. That is what I came for. Now I'm just going to cuddle you for a while.” Moira whispered. “You didn’t even feel it, did you?”

Moira sat in the rocking chair until Teresa turned on the lights.

“Mrs. Queen, nap time is over. They're going to have snack.” Teresa said quietly.

“I better go.” Moira said. She looked down at Anna in her arms. “I didn't mean to stay so long.”

“I'll still have to talk to Anna's mom to make sure this is okay with her.” Teresa told her. “I will send you a schedule of our day if she says it’s okay.”

Moira nodded. She pushed Anna’s hair away from her face. “Anna, it’s time to wake up.”

Anna stirred. She blinked up at Moira with Oliver's eyes. She reached up and touched Moira’s face.

Moira felt her heart twist. She took a breath and gathered her emotions. “Snack time, little one.”

Anna frowned when Moira stood up with her.

Moira took her to the table and put her in one of the little chairs. She kissed Anna on top of the head. “I'll see you soon.”

Teresa frowned as she watched Moira Queen leave.

A few hours later when Felicity came to pick up Anna, Teresa pulled her aside.

“Felicity, Moira Queen said you gave her permission to visit with Anna in daycare. Is that true?” Teresa asked.

“Yes I did. Is that a problem?” Felicity took Anna's things from her locker. “Did Anna make a fuss?”

“No. Mrs. Queen was here during nap time. She just held Anna while she sat in the rocker.” Teresa shrugged. “I thought it was a little odd.”

“I told her she could spend time with her because Anna reminds her of her own daughter. Visit only. I'm not giving permission for her to pick her up or take her from the room.” Felicity clarified.

“I understand. I offered to send her a schedule of our day if you said it was okay.” Teresa said. “But I still think it’s strange.”

“Mrs. Queen owns the company and pays our salary. I don't think you could stop her. Send her the schedule and tell her when the best times to visit are. I don’t want her to be disruptive.” Felicity turned around and looked for her daughter. She spotted Anna playing with blocks. “I better get Anna home.”

“I’ll take care of it right away. See you both in the morning.” Teresa said as Felicity walked away.

Anna smiled when Felicity reached down to pick her up. “Mama!”

Felicity waved as she left. Anna waved then put her head down on Felicity's shoulder.

Felicity noticed the lingering scent of Moira’s expensive perfume. She hoped that Oliver would be proud of her for letting his mom spend time with their daughter.

-

It was a few days before Moira got the results from the test that compared Anna’s, Thea’s, and her DNA. The results were delivered by messenger over to her from the lab. They were delivered just before lunch.

Walter saw the messenger leave as he walked in to Moira's office. “Is that what you were waiting for?”

“Yes.” Moira opened the envelope. She read the results and sat back in her chair. She put the results on her desk. “She's my granddaughter.”

“Are you going to confront this Ms. Smoak?” Walter asked.

“No.” Moira said. “I'm just going to wait. I want to see if she makes a claim.”

“If she does?” Walter asked. “What will you do?”

“Then I will listen. She is a good mother. I won't take Anna from her. I think losing Oliver and Anna would destroy her.” Moira said. “I believe she actually loved my son. I heard it in her voice when she was telling the daycare worker that her husband was dead.”

“If she doesn’t make a claim, what will you do then?” Walter asked.

“Then I won’t say anything either.” Moira shrugged. “If she wants to keep things quiet then so shall I. I don’t think she will be a problem either way.”

“She is family Moira. You have to do something for her and Oliver’s child.” Walter said sternly.

“I know that, Walter. I am going to have the daycare fees waived. I'm also going to do a lot of shopping. I don't know how Ms. Smoak will feel about that but I don't care. She is my son's daughter and I intend to spoil her as a grandmother should.”

“I hope this goes well for both of you and the child.” Walter said. “Now, we should go to lunch.”

Moira picked up the results and put it in her purse. “Do you feel like Greek?”

Walter smiled. “Greek it is.”

Moira stood up and walked around the desk to Walter’s open arms.

“I miss him. She has his eyes.” Moira said into Walter’s chest. “I could feel him with us as I held her.”

“You have to take care of his family. I’m sure that would be what he would want.” Walter rubbed her back.

“I know.” Moira took Walter’s hand. “Now, let’s go to lunch.”

They walked out of the office hand in hand to the elevator. 

-

Two weeks later, Moira took a breath as she stepped off the elevator. She didn't know how Felicity was going to take her giving gifts to Anna. She had been to daycare several times and she wanted to do more than just visit.

Moira walked into the IT department. “Mr. Mitchell, I'm looking for Ms. Smoak.”

“She's in the server room, Mrs. Queen. She is doing a diagnostic on one of the servers.” Mr. Mitchell pointed to a door a short distance from them. “Do you want me to get her for you?”

“No. Thank you. I will just be a minute.” Moira walked to the server room. She knocked on the open door.

Felicity looked up from her monitor. “Hello Mrs. Queen. Can I help you with something? Do you need a password reset?”

“No. I’m here for something more personal. It’s not QC related. Ms. Smoak, I saw something while I was shopping yesterday. I thought Anna might enjoy it.” Moira held out a shopping bag to Felicity.

Felicity stood up and took the bag. She looked inside. She reached in and pulled out a stuffed horse. “Oh! She's going to love this. Thank you.”

“Anna has been bringing me a book about horses to read to her at nap time.” Moira smiled.

“Yes. I had to buy a copy for bedtime. She tried to take the one in daycare home with her.” Felicity smiled at the stuffed horse. “Anna threw a fit when I put it back on the shelf. He looks just like the horse from the story.”

“I thought so too.” Moira laughed. “I'm sure she'll love it.”

They stood awkwardly for a few moments. Felicity finally broke the silence.

“Mrs. Queen, I want to thank you for being nice to my daughter.” Felicity paused and gathered her thoughts. “We haven't had it easy but we have made friends along the way. The professor that I was a TA for basically adopted us. We were very lucky to be included in some of his family’s get-togethers. Holidays too. They are Jewish like us.”

“They sound very nice.” Moira wasn’t sure why Felicity was telling her this.

“They were. I'm glad that Anna has made a friend in you.” Felicity said. “Mom lives in Las Vegas. She only stayed a week after we got here. She only stays long enough to spoil her then she leaves.”

“That is what grandmothers do.” Moira smiled.

“Yeah. I don’t remember my grandmother. She died when I was really little but I guess that’s probably true.” Felicity said. “Is it helping with you? Having Anna to visit so you don’t miss you husband and son so much?”

“Yes it is. Thank you.” Moira said. “I hope you don’t mind me giving Anna presents.”

“No. It’s okay but not too many we live in a small apartment. We don’t have too much space.” Felicity smiled and put the toy back in the bag. The computer made a noise. “My diagnostic is done. I better get back to work.”

“Please, let me know how she likes it.” Moira said. She checked her watch and sighed. “I should be going too. I have a meeting in ten minutes with the head of accounting.”

“Thank you and good luck with the meeting.” Felicity smiled.

Moira nodded and left the server room and headed for the elevator.

Mr. Mitchell walked into the server room. “Something you want to tell me, Ms. Smoak?”

“No.” Felicity sat down and started to look through the diagnostic results.

“Why was Moira Queen looking for you?” Mr. Mitchell asked.

“She wanted to give my daughter a toy.” Felicity pointed at the bag on the desk. “It looks like I have some things to fix. May I get started?”

“Of course. Put the report listing the repairs on my desk when you are finished.” Mr. Mitchell said.

Felicity nodded without looking up.

Mr. Mitchell walked out and headed for his office. He thought it was strange that the head of the company would be so interested in a tech’s child but he had no explanation that made sense come to mind. He dismissed it as the peculiarities of the rich.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

The stuffed horse was the first of the presents that Moira brought to Felicity for Anna. Felicity started to get suspicious that Moira knew Anna was her granddaughter.

Not all of the presents were toys. Sometimes there were bags of clothes from a children’s boutique. Anna was out growing so many of the clothes that Felicity had brought with them that it was a great relief to have Moira buying some things.

One of the first cold days after Felicity and Anna had moved to Starling City, the zipper broke on Anna’s coat. It couldn’t have happened at a worse time.

Felicity had just got the car fixed and money was very tight. She didn’t have the money to get a new one. She had to use a safety pin to close the front of the coat until she could get to a thrift shop to buy a new one.

Teresa was there when Anna came in that morning. She noticed that Felicity was upset and she asked what was going on. When she heard what happened, she thought she should send a message to Moira.

Moira came down to daycare that day at naptime. She looked in and cleared her throat to get Teresa’s attention.

“Mrs. Queen, I’m glad you came down today. Felicity brought Anna in this morning and the zipper on her coat was broken. I know you have gotten things for her before I was just thinking that you should know.” Teresa said. “Felicity seemed really upset about it.”

“Does Felicity know you are telling me this?” Moira asked. She wondered if Felicity was behind the request and had asked Teresa to ask for her.     

“No. She said she was going to go to a thrift store this weekend to replace it.” Teresa said.  “I just thought you should know.”

“Thank you for telling me. What time does Felicity usually pick Anna up?” Moira asked.

“She comes in between five thirty and six usually.” Teresa said.

“I’ll have something here before five.” Moira said.

Teresa smiled. “I glad. Felicity had some unexpected car repairs and I know she would appreciate the help.”

“If there is anything else that you know that they need I want you to tell me.” Moira said.

“I will.” Teresa said.

Anna took that moment to run up to Moira and hold her arms up to be picked up.

“I see I have been spotted. Hello little one. Excuse us.” Moira said as she picked Anna up.

“Of course.” Teresa said.

Moira got Anna’s blanket from her locker and took her to the rocking chair.    

When Felicity went to pick up Anna at daycare, she saw a bag in her locker. Felicity looked inside and there was a note and a purple wool coat with a scarf, hat, and mittens to match.

Felicity pulled out the note and read it.

“Thea had one just like this in red. MQ”

Felicity pulled out the coat and looked at it. It was expensive. It was also a size larger than the one she had. She put it on Anna and went home.

The next morning Moira was surprised by Felicity coming to her office.

Moira waved her in. “Good Morning Ms. Smoak.”

“Good morning Mrs. Queen. I want to thank you for the coat you bought for Anna. It’s beautiful.” Felicity said. “To be honest, I was wondering how I was going to replace the coat she was wearing. Things have been tight lately.”

“If you need something, you should just tell me.” Moira said. “I would be glad to help you any way I can.”   

“No. We’re fine. I just came to say thank you and give you a picture that Anna made for you.” Felicity handed her a picture. “I also sent you a photo of her to your email.”        

“Felicity, you would tell me if you needed something, right?” Moira reached out and touched Felicity’s shoulder

Felicity nodded. “If we really needed help, I would tell you. You know that I wouldn’t let Anna go without.”

Moira nodded. “I’m glad to hear that.”

“I better get down to IT. I hear there is a server in need of my attention.” Felicity smiled.

“Are you bringing Anna to the company holiday party next month?” Moira asked.

“I was thinking of skipping it. My mom is coming for Hanukah.” Felicity told her.

“Bring her along.” Moira suggested. “It is a family party. I would love to meet your mother.”

Felicity laughed. “You may want to reconsider that. My mother is … my mother. I better go.”

“Good luck with that server.” Moira smiled.

“Yeah.” Felicity said before she walked out of the office.                 

-

Donna arrived the day of the holiday party at Queen Consolidated. Felicity went to pick her up at the airport early that morning.

Donna ran up and hugged Felicity and Anna as soon as she saw them. “Oh my beautiful girls! Oh! She has grown so much. Come to Bubbe, Anna.”

Anna went to Donna with a big smile on her face. Donna gave her a big kiss. Anna giggled.

“Mom, you talk to her every week on Skype. I don’t know why you’re surprised that she’s bigger than she was last time you were here.” Felicity said.  

“I know but it’s different when I see her in person.” Donna said. “I can’t wait to see the new place.”

“It’s a townhouse. We have a small back yard and a parking space.” Felicity said. “It’s the cheapest place I could find in a decent neighborhood.”

“I’m just glad you’re still not in that awful studio apartment.” Donna said.

“We would be but the super was creeping me out. I didn’t like it that he had a master key to get in my place anytime he wanted.” Felicity said. “I was kinda lucky to find this new place so quick.”

“Is this one a month to month too?” Donna asked. She rubbed noses with Anna.

“No. I have a lease this time. Come on Mom. You’ll be staying in my room.” Felicity grabbed the handle on Donna’s suitcase. It was a lot heavier than she expected. “Wow! What is in here?”

“Hanukah presents and no peeking.” Donna smiled at Anna. “Your mommy always used to peek.”

“I didn’t peek. You just didn’t hide things as well as you thought.” Felicity said.

Donna rolled her eyes at that and followed Felicity to the car with Anna in her arms.

Donna looked around the townhouse when they got there. She was standing in Anna’s room when Felicity found her.

“I’m making grilled cheese for lunch. Are you hungry?” Felicity asked.

Donna nodded. “Where did you get these clothes? This dress alone must have been expensive?”

Felicity looked at the red party dress that Donna was holding up. Moira had brought it to her yesterday morning for the holiday party. There had been stockings and black patent leather shoes to go with it in the bag.

“Oliver’s mother buys her clothes and things sometimes.” Felicity waited for her mother to say something. She knew a lecture was probably coming.

Donna surprised her. “It’s pretty.”

“It’s for the company holiday party tonight.” Felicity said. “Come downstairs and I’ll make lunch. Anna is going to need a good nap so she won’t be cranky tonight.”

Donna put the dress back on the dresser and followed Felicity downstairs. “So she knows that Anna is her granddaughter?”

“I think so but I didn’t tell her.” Felicity said.

“If you didn’t tell her then how did she find out?” Donna asked.

“I have no idea.” Felicity said as she started to make lunch. She looked over to Anna sitting on the floor playing with some building blocks. “She and Anna have a bond.”

“How did she even know about Anna?” Donna sat down at the kitchen table to wait.

“I use the in-house daycare, Mom. It wouldn’t be that hard for her to hear about it.” Felicity said.

Donna looked at the bills on the table. “How much do you still owe on your hospital bill from when you had Anna?”

“A lot. I upped the payments to fifty a month when I started working but it still isn’t making that much of a dent in it. Felicity said. She turned from the stove and scooped up the bills on the table and put them in a drawer. “Don’t worry about it, Mom. I’ll get it paid.”

“Anna will be eighteen by the time you do.” Donna looked down at Anna. “Has she done anything smart yet?”

“She’s just a year old, Mom. Let her be who she is going to be. Oliver wasn’t a genius. Maybe she will take after him.” Felicity said as she put the sandwiches in the pan on the stove.   

“I am still holding out hope.” Donna said.

They finished lunch and Felicity put Anna down for a nap. Donna went to rest and Felicity relaxed on the sofa until it was time to wake up Anna and get ready to go to the party.

Felicity got ready first then got Anna ready after she had a snack.

Donna took that moment to go down to the kitchen and get the hospital bill from the drawer and put it in her purse. She was going to have a little talk with Moira Queen, grandmother to grandmother. 

-

By the time Felicity and Donna arrived in the Queen Consolidated lobby, the holiday party was in full swing. Felicity signed Donna in and gave her the visitor’s pass the guard handed her.

“Where am I supposed to put this?” Donna looked down at the tight strapless dress that she was wearing and then back at Felicity.

“Clip it on your purse.” Felicity pulled her work ID out and put the chain over her neck like all the other employees. She put Anna down and started to take off her coat.

Anna looked around holding onto Donna’s hand. She seemed afraid with so many people and things going on.

“There you are, little one.” Moira came towards them in a simple black dress. “Hello Felicity.”

Anna let go of Donna’s hand and ran to Moira. She held up her hands to be picked up.

Moira knelt down instead. “Let’s get your coat off then I will take you to look at the big tree.”

“Mrs. Queen, this is my mom, Donna Smoak.” Felicity said. “Mom, this is Moira Queen.

Moira looked up and smiled. “You have a very remarkable daughter and granddaughter.”

“Yes I do. Thank you for noticing, Moira.” Donna looked around. “Nice party.”

“We used to have it at the house but after my husband and my son died, it didn’t seem right somehow. Christmas was their favorite time of year.” Moira pulled off Anna’s coat and stood up before she picked her up.

Felicity held out her hand for Anna’s coat and scarf. “This must be a very hard time for you.”

“It was worse the first year.” Moira said. You don’t mind if I show her the tree, do you? I know you have said you were Jewish.”

“As long as it’s just decorations and Santa, its fine but we don’t celebrate Christmas.” Felicity said.

“I understand.” Moira said. “Come, enjoy yourselves.”

Felicity and Donna followed Moira into the crowd. They stopped to hang their coats then headed to the buffet table.

“She didn’t waste any time taking Anna from you, did she?” Donna said. She looked at Moira at the tree with Anna. Another younger woman came over to them and said something to them. “Who is that girl?”

“That’s Thea Queen.” Felicity picked up a canapé from one of the trays. “She’s Moira’s daughter.”

Donna turned to Felicity and whispered. “She and Anna are almost twins.”

“I know. When they are together like that, it’s really obvious.” Felicity said. She looked around to see if anyone was staring at them or Anna.

“You think.” Donna said. She took a glass of champagne off a passing waiter’s tray. “At least it isn’t a dry party.”

Felicity sighed as she watched her mother take a drink. “We’re not going to stay too long. I don’t want you to get drunk or worse.”

“I can handle myself.” Donna said. “Have one.”

“I’m driving, Mom and I’m still under age. I’ll stick with the punch.” Felicity said.

Moira came over with Anna. “Felicity, I was wondering if Thea could take Anna over to color for a while.”

Felicity nodded as Thea came up to them. “Anna loves to color.”

“So do I.” Thea said. “I won’t let her out of my sight. I promise.”

“Okay.” Felicity said.

“Thanks. Come on Anna. Let’s go color.” Thea said as she took Anna from Moira.

“Your daughter is very beautiful.” Donna said. “Does she look like her father?”

“Mom!” Felicity nudged Donna.

“She looks like my mother.” Moira smiled. “But Thea and Robert were very close.”

“Excuse me. I wanted to give a holiday card to Mr. Mitchell.” Felicity said. She looked at Donna. “Behave.”

Donna waited until Felicity was gone to step up to Moira. “Is there somewhere we can talk in private?”

“Yes. There is a conference room just around that corner.” Moira led the way.

When they entered the conference room, Moira shut the door and locked it.

“I suppose you want to talk to me about my relationship with Felicity and Anna. Do you not approve of me being close to your daughter and granddaughter?” Moira asked.

“You mean ‘our’ granddaughter.” Donna said. “Look, I can tell that you know that she is your son’s daughter. I never met your son. He was already on his way home when Felicity came home from spending two weeks in a honeymoon suite with him. I wasn’t too happy about that.  You can imagine my disappointment when I found out she was pregnant.”

“If it had been Thea, I would have felt the same way.” Moira said. “When she talks about him, she sounds like she loved him.”

“She told you she was married to your son?” Donna asked.

“No she says ‘my husband’. She never uses his name or gives any details of their time together.” Moira told her.

“She doesn’t say much to me either but she did care for him and she misses him.” Donna said. “Oliver right?”

“Yes.” Moira said. She sat down at the conference table and motioned for Donna to do the same. 

“Felicity cried when Anna was born because your son wasn’t there.” Donna told her. “The nurses were all looking at her with pity because she was so young to be a widow. She was really just a girl. She used his last name then but she hasn’t used it again.”

“I have come to respect your daughter. She is a good mother and I can see why my son was attracted to her.” Moira said. “But she won’t come to me and say that she is his wife or that Anna is my granddaughter.”     

“She doesn’t think you would believe her.” Donna said.

“Anna looks like Thea and she has Oliver’s eyes. I would have to be blind not to see it.” Moira said. “I went to daycare when Felicity was signing her up. I wanted to see the girl my son had married and her child. What I didn’t expect was that they would be a comfort to me. They are my last connection to Oliver.”

“Then help her. I know you buy Anna clothes and toys but there are other things that need to be paid for.” Donna said as she took the hospital bill from her purse. She slid it over to Moira. “Felicity has been trying to pay this since Anna was born. She’s not making any headway on it.”

Moira looked at the bill and nodded. “I will take care of this. I also had the fees waived for daycare as soon as I saw Anna.”

“Felicity said the daycare was free.” Donna was confused.

“It’s not. It’s taken out as a payroll deduction for employees that use it. It’s normally one hundred dollars per week.” Moira told her.

Donna smiled. “Thank you. There is one more thing. I think that as Anna’s grandmothers, we should keep in touch but I don’t want Felicity to know that we talked or that we will continue to talk.”

Moira nodded. “I think that is a wonderful idea. We can share information to make it easy for both of them.”

“Exactly.” Donna said. She stood up. “We should get back to the party.”

Moira stood up. She folded the bill and put it in her bra. “We haven’t been missed yet. Shouldn’t we exchange numbers first?”

“Right.” Donna took her phone out of her purse and handed it to Moira. “You should put your number and email in.”

Moira put in her contact information and sent a text to her phone. “There that will give me your number. Now let’s go.

She and Donna left the conference room and went in different directions.

“Where did you go?” Felicity asked when Donna came over to where she was standing.

“I saw a cute guy but it turned out he was married.” Donna lied. “Is Anna still coloring?”

“They are listening to a story now. Mr. Steel is reading to them.” Felicity said. She looked down in the punch cup she was holding. “This stuff is terrible. We’ll go soon. I just wanted Anna to have some time with Mrs. Queen.”

“Look!” Donna pointed. “They are giving out presents.”

“We’ll go after this then.” Felicity said.

A few minutes later, Thea came up to them with a handful of drawings and Anna holding onto her hand. Anna had a wrapped present and a goodie bag.

“She wanted her mommy.” Thea said as Anna went to Felicity. “Thanks for letting me have some fun with her. Mom said that you are a widow. It must be really hard for you. Mom was a mess after my dad and brother died. I didn’t think she was going to make it but she’s been better now that you and Anna are here. Thanks for that.”

Felicity looked at Oliver’s sister and smiled. “I’m glad to help. “Thank you for watching her.”

“I always wanted a little sister.” Thea shrugged.

Felicity looked at Anna then back at Thea. “So did I.”

Donna rolled her eyes.

“We should go.” Felicity said after catching her mother in the corner of her eye. “It’s getting late for Anna.”

“I’ll tell Mom that you’re going. She wanted to say goodbye.” Thea rushed off to find Moira.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Felicity had Anna in her coat by the time Moira got there. Moira knelt down and gave Anna a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“It was nice to meet you Mrs. Smoak.” Moira smiled at Donna.

“It was nice to meet you too.” Donna said with a smile.

Moira looked down at the hand. “Oh! I almost forgot. I have something for you, Felicity.”

Felicity took the small box and opened it. Inside the box was a gold locket. Thank you. It’s beautiful.”

“I thought you could put photos of Anna and her father in it. I have one very similar with photos of my son and Thea in it.” Moira told her. “Good night and happy holidays.”

On impulse, Felicity hugged Moira. “Happy holidays to you too.”

A week later, Felicity went on line to make a payment on the hospital bill but it was paid in full. She tried to find out who had paid it but all she found was a note in the system that said it was paid in full with cash. 

For the next three years, Moira and Donna worked together to make sure Felicity and Anna have whatever they needed. They worked together in secret, never telling Felicity that they had ever had more contact than the one time they met at the holiday party when Felicity and Anna had their first Hanukah in Starling City.   

It was Donna that let Moira know that Felicity had signed Anna up for preschool at the local elementary school. Donna came into town a few days before Anna’s first day of school. Donna went to see Moira after she and Felicity had gone to lunch at the deli a few blocks away.

Donna left and came back when Felicity was out of sight. Donna had the guard call up to Moira’s office to see if she could speak to her. Moira told the guard to send her up.

Moira was waiting as Donna came into her office. “You are taking a chance meeting with me here. Felicity could find out about our arrangement.”

“She is in the IT department. I left and came back after she was gone. I wanted to show you this.” Donna handed Moira a brochure. “Anna is going to preschool in a few days. She won’t be in the daycare downstairs anymore. Felicity has signed her up for this afterschool care thing.”

“Felicity told me Anna was going to preschool.” Moira glanced at the brochure. “I hadn’t realized that day would be here so soon. I had hoped to nudge Felicity into sending her to the private school that Oliver and Thea went to.”

“That would have been nice. I saw the school it looks rundown and depressing.” Donna said. “Felicity went to a special charter school. It was free but she had to wear a uniform. I was hoping there were charter schools that Anna could go to here in Starling City.”

Moira looked at the brochure in her hand. “Glades Elementary? I didn’t realize that they lived in the Glades.”

“Is that bad?” Donna asked.

“It’s not a very safe part of the city. It has a high crime rate.” Moira said. “I can’t imagine the school is well funded.”

“Maybe I should try to talk her into the private school.” Donna said. “Maybe we both should.”

Moira nodded. “I agree.”

“This afterschool thing isn’t free. Felicity will have to pay every month for the days Anna was there.” Donna told her

“I’ll take care of the afterschool care.” Moira said. “That is until we can get Anna into Starling Academy.”

“That sounds like a plan.” Donna said. “We will have to start working on Felicity right away then.”

“When does school start?” Moira asked.

“Monday. I’m here to go with Felicity and Anna on the first day. Maybe you can just show up to see her go in?” Donna suggested.

“I will ask if I can come. But if she says no, I will have to respect her decision. I don’t want to intrude.” Moira said.

“You’re her grandmother. It’s not intruding.” Donna said. “Felicity would be fine with it.”

“Still I’m going to ask.” Moira said. “I’ll call down to IT and talk to her.”

“I better go.” Donna said. She took the brochure that Moira handed back to her.

“Thank you Donna, for letting me know.” Moira said with a smile.

“Any time Moira.” Donna smiled and headed for the elevator.

Moira called down to IT and got Felicity on the line. “Felicity, I was wondering if I could be there on Anna’s first day of school. If you don’t want me there I will understand but I thought I’d ask.”

“Oh!” Felicity hesitated a moment. “I’m sure Anna would love to have you there and so would I.”

“Are you sure I’m not intruding?” Moira asked to be sure. “It’s just that the first day of school is very a special time for a mother.”

“You’re not intruding. My mom came in for Anna’s first day of school.” Felicity told her. “Anna is going to Glades Elementary. We have to be there at seven in the morning on Monday. You could meet us there.”

“Thank you. I’ll let you get back to what you were doing.” Moira hung up the phone and went back to the stack of files on her desk.

Down in the IT department, Felicity looked at the phone. She shook her head and shrugged. She didn’t expect Anna’s first day of school to be such an event.

-

Monday morning came and Moira was waiting when Donna and Felicity drove up with Anna. Moira smiled when she saw Anna in a school uniform. Anna reminded Moira of Thea on the first day of school.

“You haven’t been waiting long have you?” Felicity asked.

“No.” Moira smiled. “Hello Anna. Are you all ready for school?”

“Yes. I am in Katie’s class.” Anna said.

“Oh so there are other children here whose parents work at QC?” Moira asked.

“Just three from daycare. Katie and Melody are in Anna’s class. Melody’s mom works in accounting. Katie’s mom is in the IT department with me.” Felicity told Moira.

“We should go in, Felicity.” Donna said. “We don’t want her to be late.”

“Right. I need to take some photos first. Anna, stand here with Bubbe and Mrs. Queen. Bunch together.” Felicity took out her phone and waited for them to get down with Anna. She took a photo. She handed the phone to Donna. “Okay you and me now.”

Donna took a photo of Felicity and Anna in front of the school sign. “Felicity, its time.”

“Come on Anna. We can walk with her as far as the door to her class but we have to stay in the hallway.” Felicity took Anna’s hand and started to walk inside.

They all walked to Anna’s classroom and waved as she went inside.

Felicity held it together until she got outside. She started to cry as she walked to the car.

“Oh my baby girl. She is going to do fine.” Donna hugged her.

“It’s not that.” Felicity said as she wiped away a tear. She let Donna hold her tight. “This is just something else that he missed.”

Donna looked over Felicity’s shoulder at Moira. She could see that Felicity wasn’t the only one getting emotional.

“I have a meeting. I will call to see how her first day was later.” Moira said and quickly left Donna there with Felicity still in her arms.

“Let’s go get some coffee and then you can get to work.” Donna wiped the tears off Felicity’s face. “I’ll drive but you have to tell me where to go. Okay?”

“Okay.” Felicity took a breath and got herself together. “I could use some caffeine.”

“Of course you could.” Donna said as they walked back to the car.

-

It was just two months later in October when Marilyn rushed into Moira’s office. She looked slightly upset when she cleared her throat to get Moira’s attention. 

“Mrs. Queen, there is a call on the line from the Chinese Embassy. The caller wouldn't give his name but he did say it’s urgent.” Marilyn said as she stood in the doorway of the office.

“What line?” Moira put down her pen and reached for the phone.

“Line three.” Marilyn told her.

“Thank you Marilyn.” Moira picked up the phone on line two. “Hello? This is Moira Queen.”

“Mom.” The voice was familiar.

Moira froze. “Who is this?”

“Mom, its Oliver.”

“Oliver, where have you been?” Moira asked. She couldn’t believe it was actually her beautiful boy on the phone. Alive!

“I was on an island called Lian Yu in the North China Sea. Mom, I want to come home.”

“I will send Ned Foster to come get you.” Moira brushed a tear off her cheek. “He'll bring you and your father everything you need.”

“Mom… Dad didn't make it. He went down with the Gambit. I was the only one that made it to the life raft.”

“I....I understand. I'll send Ned Foster to get you as soon as possible. Oliver I can't wait to see you.” Moira took a breath. “I love you.”

“I love you too. I can't wait to see you and Thea. Tommy. Is he still around?”

“Yes. Do you want me to tell him you're coming home? He is going to be so thrilled to have you back.” Moira said.

“Tell him I want to see him. There is someone else I want to see but I'll wait until I come home. I love you, Mom.”

“I love you Oliver. I'll call Ned as soon we hang up.” Moira repeated.

“Thanks Mom. I'll see you soon.”

“Yes. My beautiful boy. I'll see you soon.” Moira smiled into the phone.

The call disconnected.

Moira took a minute to collect herself before she got up and started walking to her assistants desk. “Marilyn, I need Ned Foster on the line now and send for Ms. Smoak in IT. I want to see her right away. Hold my calls and cancel all my appointments.”

“Yes Mrs. Queen. I'll have him on the line right away.” Marilyn said.

-

Felicity looked up from what she was doing to the server when she heard someone clear their throat.

“I'm almost done.” Felicity said. “I just have to replace one more thing.”

“It will have to wait.” Mr. Mitchell told her. “Mrs. Queen wants to see you right away.”

Felicity got up from the floor. “This shouldn't take long. She probably wants to give me something for my daughter.”

“Don't you think that's weird that she gives you things for your kid and no one else's?” Mr. Mitchell said.

“Anna reminds her of her daughter when she was little.” Felicity said. “Don't touch anything until I get back.”

“Wouldn't dream of it.” Mr. Mitchell said.

Felicity went up to the executive floor to see what Mrs. Queen wanted.

“Mrs. Queen sent for me.” Felicity stopped at Marilyn's desk.

“Go right in Ms. Smoak.” Marilyn told her.

Felicity went in. “Mrs. Queen, you sent for me?”

“Sit down Ms. Smoak.” Moira walked over and sat down on the sofa.

Felicity sat down. “Is there something you wanted me fix?”

“No.” Moira took a breath and started what she planned to say. “I had a phone call from China a little while ago.”

“Is there a problem with the Queen Consolidated holdings in China?” Felicity asked.

“No. The call wasn't from the Queen Consolidated offices. It was from the embassy.” Moira reached out and took Felicity's hands. “Felicity, the call was from my son. Oliver is alive. He was found on an island in the North China Sea. I sent someone to bring him home.”

Felicity blinked and looked down. “That's wonderful news. I'm happy for you.”

“You should be happy for Anna too. Her father is coming home.” Moira said.

Felicity looked up startled. “You know.”

“Yes. I also know you’re my son's wife. Felicity, I think it’s time we stop keeping secrets.” Moira told her. “Oliver will be home in a few days. He said there was someone he wanted to see but he didn't say who it was. I think it was you.”

“It might be Laurel. He may want to go back to her.” Felicity said.

“Oliver wasn't on good terms with her when he left.” Moira said. “I think you probably know that.”

“Maybe, he wants to make amends with her.” Felicity shrugged.

“I don't think that's it. What was the last thing you and Oliver were planning? He came home. Where did you go?” Moira asked.

“MIT. He was supposed to come see me when he got back from China. He said that his dad said he could use the jet.” Felicity told her.

“He told Robert about you.” Moira smiled.

“Oliver must have shown him a photo too. He said that his dad thought I was pretty.” Felicity smiled. “He had one from our wedding album. I guess he had it with him. It’s lost now.”

“You have a wedding album?” Moira was surprised to hear that.

“We do and we took a lot of photos during our honeymoon.” Felicity smiled. “There was space in the album for those too. I took the ones off his phone and my phone and printed them out.”

“I would like to see them sometime.” Moira said. “Have you had lunch yet?”

“No but I have a salad in the break room fridge in IT.” Felicity said.

“We are going out to lunch to celebrate. I won’t take ‘no’ for an answer.” Moira said.

“Okay.” Felicity said.  

“Marilyn, we are going for lunch.” Moira stood up. “Get your things and meet me in the lobby. It’s about time I have very long lunch with my daughter in law.”

“Um. Okay.” Felicity got up. “Mr. Mitchell is not going to be happy. I left one of the servers in pieces.”

“You’re a Queen.” Moira shrugged. “It’s doesn't matter what he likes.”

“I have to pick Anna up by six at the afterschool program.” Felicity said. “We won't be still at lunch will we?”

“If we are I'll have the driver take you there in time to pick her up. You can call in the morning for a car to take her to school and bring you to work.” Moira said.

“Thank you.” Felicity said. “It'll take me a moment to get my stuff.”

Felicity went back down to IT to get her bag and jacket.

“Where are you going?” Mr. Mitchell asked.

“Mrs. Queen has a project that she wants me to work on right now. It may take the rest of the day.” Felicity walked past him on the way to the elevator.

“What about the server?” Mr. Mitchell asked.

“I'll fix it in the morning.” Felicity said. “Just don’t touch it until then.”

Mr. Mitchell watched her leave with a shocked look on his face.

-

Moira smiled as she got off the elevator. She was glad to see Felicity standing near the door waiting for her. She thought maybe Mr. Mitchell had pressured Felicity into finishing her work on the server.

“Are you ready?” Moira said as she walked up to Felicity.

“Yes.” Felicity said as she fell in step with Moira as they walked out the door. “Where are we going?”

“There is a place downtown that Walter and I go to when we want to have some privacy. Actually Robert and I used to go there too.” Moira told her.

“Oliver took me to a place in Las Vegas that his dad told him about once.” Felicity said. “It had private dining rooms and a tasting menu. I had never been to a place that nice before.”

“Did Oliver take you there before you were married?” Moira asked.

“No. It was on our last night together.” Felicity smiled. “I wore this red dress that made Oliver crazy. I kept it all this time. He bought me two dresses right after we were married. I didn’t have any nice dresses. We went out to dinner the night after we were married with my friend and Tommy. They had picked this ridiculously expensive place for dinner. I’m pretty sure it was Ginger’s idea.”  

A young man stood next to the car and opened the door for Mrs. Queen. “Mrs. Queen.”

“Rob. We are going to lunch.” Moira said. “Take us to Parker House.”

Felicity got in the backseat with Moira. She was still a little uncomfortable.

“Relax Felicity.” Moira said. “I don’t bite.”

Felicity laughed. “I know. It’s just strange for us to be doing something without Anna.”

“That is going to have to change.” Moira said. “We should get to know each other better. I don’t even know much about you. Tell me some things that I don’t know about you.”

“I went to MIT but you probably knew that. I was on a full scholarship. I went straight through with only one summer session off.” Felicity shrugged. “I just wanted to get it over with. I wasn’t exactly fitting in with the older students.”

“Why did you take the break?” Moira asked.

“I had just had Anna and she was more to handle than I expected at first. It took me a while to get my bearings.” Felicity smiled. “She wasn’t a server so I was a little bit out of my element.”

“Did you always want to be in computer science?” Moira asked. “You must have started MIT very early.”

“I have always loved computers. I made my first computer when I was seven. It was as natural as breathing to me. It still is.” Felicity said.

“I take it you’re the one that keeps the servers on for the company.” Moira smiled.

“Yeah. I seem to be the only one that can. I wrote a proposal to replace those antiques and get something that could take the traffic but Mr. Mitchel said the board didn’t go for it.” Felicity said.

“When was this?” Moira asked.

“Right after the last board meeting. He said he presented it and it was voted down.” Felicity told her.

“He never presented anything at the last board meeting.” Moira said. “Give your proposal to Walter and let him look at it. He can help you get it in shape before the next board meeting.”

“Then what?” Felicity asked.

“Then you present it to the board yourself.” Moira said. “The company is Anna’s legacy. I think having you more involved would be a good idea for you and her. I learned the business so that I could take over if something happened to Robert. You should do the same.”

“Um…” Felicity wrinkled her nose. “You’re assuming that Oliver and I are staying together and that Thea will be okay with an outsider taking over her family’s company.”

“You’re not an outsider. You’re family.” Moira patted her hand.

“Mrs. Queen, we’re here.” Rob said as he pulled over to the curb.

“Thank you Rob. I’ll call when we are ready to leave.” Moira said. 

“Yes ma’am.” Rob got out and opened the door for them.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Felicity followed Moira into the restaurant. It was nice but not as fancy as she expected. The hostess took them to a private dining room.

Felicity looked around and smiled. She sat down and put her napkin in her lap. “This is nice.”

“I thought we could use a little privacy. I had my assistant call ahead and reserve a dining room for us.” Moira said as she settled in her seat. She looked at the server. “Bring us a bottle of champagne. We are celebrating.”

The server nodded and left them alone.

“Tell me about the wedding.” Moira said.

“We were married at a chapel off the strip. It was called Rose Chapel. It closed about a year ago. The minister had a stroke and they sold the place. It’s a private poker club now.” Felicity told her. “When we were married the chapel was full of roses. It was just a simple ceremony but it was nice.”  

“Who were your witnesses?” Moira asked. “Were they just some strangers that happened to be there at the time?”

“My friend Ginger and Tommy.” Felicity smiled. “They thought we were crazy for actually going through with it. We were a little tipsy at the time but not drunk.”  

“Do you mean Tommy Merlyn?” Moira asked.

“Yes.” Felicity nodded. “Oliver said he was his best friend.”

“I don’t understand. Why didn’t Tommy tell me that you and Oliver were married?” Moira asked.

“I think he thought it wasn’t legal. It wasn’t supposed to be. We didn’t have a license or do the waiting period.” Felicity told her.

“Then you and Oliver aren’t legally married?” Moira was confused. “The background check showed that you were.”

“We are. We are kinda married for real by accident. I had a Nevada driver’s license and the marriage license was included in the package Oliver paid for at the chapel.” Felicity told her. “When I came back to my mom’s, the marriage certificate was waiting. I didn’t even get to tell Oliver that it was legal. I was going to tell him when he came for the weekend. I wonder if we are still married. I mean he was dead and now he isn’t.”

“We will have to check with the lawyers but I believe you are.” Moira said. “Do you not want to be?”

“It’s not up to me. It’s up to him. He has to want us.” Felicity said.

“I’m sure he will want you.” Moira said. “As I said in the office, I think it’s you that he wants to see.”

“I guess I’ll just have to wait and see. It’s been five years and that’s a long time.” Felicity said.

“I do have one question. If you knew you were legally married to Oliver, why didn’t you come to the memorial service?” Moira asked.

“I didn’t have the money for a plane ticket and I was just starting the semester. Classes were crazy.” Felicity said. “Tommy offered to send his dad’s jet for me but I told him not to.”

“You spoke to Tommy?” Moira asked.

“I wanted to know what was really happening and not just what the news service was putting out.” Felicity said. “I asked him to give a red rose to Oliver for me. The roses in the chapel when we got married were red.”

“I wondered why he put a red rose next to Oliver’s photo.” Moira said. “How long was it before you found out you were pregnant?”

“Not until Ginger made me take a test. It’s really my fault I didn’t insist that he use condoms.” Felicity blushed. “We weren’t thinking. Ginger tried to warn me but I didn’t listen. So she came up to see me when the stomach flu didn’t go away with a pregnancy test.”

Moira looked at the table. “You could have ended the pregnancy.”

“Ginger offered to go with me to the clinic but … I couldn’t. Then later, my mom suggested that I give her up for adoption but I couldn’t do that either.” Felicity admitted. “The baby was all I had left of Oliver and she became my salvation. I focused on her and it didn’t hurt so much.”

“That was why you let me see her when she was in daycare.” Moira nodded. “You thought it would help me too. It did.”

“Good. She loves you.” Felicity said. “I was going to tell her who you are when she got older. By that time she would already know you and Thea.”

“Thea will be so happy when her brother comes home.” Moira said. “I’ll break the news to her tonight.”

“How long will it be before the press finds out do you think?” Felicity asked.

“A day or two. Why?” Moira asked.

“I have to call my mom. She’s going to want to meet Oliver.” Felicity said.

“Donna will be thrilled to hear that he’s coming home.” Moira froze she realized she had just gave her secret away.

Felicity laughed. “I knew you two were working together.”

“Are you angry?” Moira asked.

“No.” Felicity said. “I’m glad you two have a relationship. It will make things easier for Anna that you and my mom get along.”

The server came and they drank champagne and ordered lunch. They talked and laughed for another three hours before the driver dropped off Moira at the mansion and took Felicity to pick up Anna at school.

That night Felicity and Anna looked at the wedding album and Felicity smiled as she thought about Oliver and her together again.       

-

It only took until the next day for the news services to get the news out that Oliver was alive and well and on his way home. Most of the news services were touting it as a miracle.

One news outlet had questioned if it was a set up to keep Oliver away from Starling City until the statute of limitations had expired on some crime he had committed. Moira had let the lawyers loose on them as soon as they had made the comment.  

Moira sat at her desk at Queen Consolidated and wondered if it had been wise to come into the office. She was receiving phone calls from everyone she had ever done business with it seemed. Her assistant was having a hard time keeping up with all the calls and emails.

Moira realized she wasn’t going to get anything done at the office and she was just about to leave for lunch when Marilyn walked in the office with a worried look on her face.

“Mrs. Queen, Miss Lance is on line two. She wants to speak with you.” Marilyn told her. “She is quite insistent.”

“I imagine she is.” Moira picked up the phone on line two. “Laurel, I hear you want to speak to me?”

“Moira is it true?” Laurel’s excited voice came on the line. “Is Oliver really alive?”

“Yes he is. I talked with him myself.” Moira told her. 

“When will he be coming home? I can’t wait to see him.” 

“It will be a few days. I had one of my lawyers go to get him.” Moira told her. “Laurel, we need to give him some time to adjust. He’s been away for five years. We can’t treat him like he was gone for five days.”

“I understand. Is it all right if I’m at the house when he comes home?” Laurel asked but it sounded more like she was expecting to be included in Oliver’s homecoming.

“Laurel, I think it best if he calls you when he’s ready to see you. We don’t even know what condition he is in.” Moira told her. “Give him some time before you come over.”

“Moira, you sound like you don’t want me to see him at all.” Laurel sounded surprised and hurt.

“I do but like I said we can’t rush things for him. Let him come to you.” Moira repeated to make her point.

“Fine but I won’t wait forever. See you soon, Moira.”

“Goodbye Laurel.” Moira hung up the phone and rubbed her forehead.

This was a complication that Moira wasn’t looking forward to. She wanted Felicity to get the chance to see him first before Laurel pushed her way back into Oliver’s life. Moira would just have to keep Laurel at bay for as long as she could.

-

It took a few days for Ned Foster to get replacements for Oliver’s credit cards and passport. They had been staying in a hotel in the heart of Beijing for a few days. Ned was starting to worry because Oliver hadn’t seemed like himself the entire time Ned had been with him.

“Mr. Queen, are you ready to go home?” Ned asked as he handed Oliver his new passport while they stood in the hotel room. “I’m sure your mother and sister can’t wait to see you.”

Oliver looked at the photo on the passport. He didn't recognize himself. He wasn’t thinking about his mom or his sister seeing him. He was thinking about Felicity and he wondered if she would still know him when she saw him.

“Oliver, are you all right?” Ned asked when he didn’t respond.

“I need to get something in the market place.” Oliver said. “Do we have time?”

“What do you need? I'll have someone go to get it.” Ned said. “They can meet us at the airport. The jet is fueled up and ready to go.”

“I have to get something that I promised to someone. I want to get something for Mom and Thea too.” Oliver said. “I know you think it’s silly to get souvenirs but it’s important to me.”

“No. I don’t think it’s silly. I'll go with you. I should probably get something for my wife while were there.” Ned said. “So let's go then we can get home.”

Oliver nodded and followed Ned down to the market place.

Oliver picked out a doll for Thea. He smiled when Ned raised an eyebrow at him. Even though to Oliver, Thea was still a little girl in his heart but he knew in his head she wasn’t anymore. 

Oliver found a silk scarf for his mother. It was blue with cherry blossoms on it. He picked up another red one with Chinese symbols on it. He couldn’t remember his mother’s favorite color. 

Oliver looked around for a fan for Felicity. He finally found one. The one he picked was black with roses. He opened it and smiled. It was the large kind that was used in traditional dance not the typical souvenir kind. It was perfect for Felicity.

Oliver patted Ned on the shoulder. “I'm done. We can go now.”

“I’m ready too.” Ned was glad that ordeal was over. He had picked up a scarf for his wife.

They went back to the hotel to get their bags then they were off to the jet.

The trip back to Starling City was very quiet. Ned tried to get Oliver to talk but finally gave up a couple of hours into the flight. He knew this was not the boy that had left with his father. This man that sat across from him was nothing like that boy.

When they landed, Ned took Oliver straight to the hospital to get checked out. Arrangements had already been made for a complete physical. He called Moira as soon as they got there.

“Mrs. Queen, he’s here at Starling General. He hasn’t said anything really. You might want to head down here.” Ned suggested. “The doctor wants to speak to you.”

“I will. Thank you for calling me.” Moira hung up the phone and grabbed her purse and called for a driver. She had to see her son and make sure he was real.

-

Oliver walked into his room and closed the door. He leaned against it and took a deep breath. He hadn't expected to be so emotional.

Seeing Thea and his mom after all that he had been through was a little overwhelming. Many things had changed and not all of them were happy. His sister was all grown up and his mother had remarried. He wasn't ready for all the changes.

Oliver locked the door and sat down on his bed. He saw what little he had brought back with him from China sitting next to the sofa, including his trunk with his island gear. Everything looked out of place in his old life.

He took his passport out of his pocket and went to put it in the drawer of the night table. What he found there brought back a flood of memories and hope. He found the photo of Honey, of Felicity. He lay on his back on the bed and wondered where she was and if she even remembered him. That night seemed so long ago when she sat on his lap laughing and drinking champagne.

Oliver vowed that he would find her and tell her how she gave him the motivation to survive the last five horrible years. He wanted to tell her so much but most of all he wanted to hold her again. All he needed was just a minute with her face to face to make him feel like he wasn’t still in the nightmare that was his life for the past five years.

-   

Downstairs in the front sitting room Thea sat on the sofa. “Mom, Oliver’s okay, isn’t he?”

“I think so but he may need some time to adjust to living with us again. From what Ned tells me, he hasn’t said anything about what he went through.” Moira poured a drink with a shaking hand. “I can’t even imagine what he has had to go through. But he’s home and we just need to give him some time.”

“I don’t know, Mom. He seems to have changed so much. He’s so quiet and he barely smiled the whole time we were talking to him.” Thea looked toward the stairs. “He always used to smile. He doesn’t even seem like Ollie anymore.”

Moira followed Thea’s gaze. She was more worried about how Felicity would react to him now that he was so different from the boy that got on that boat.

Thea got up. “I’m going to the mall. I’ll be back for dinner.”

Moira nodded. “Be sure that you are. Oliver will want you there.”

Thea nodded. She grabbed her jacket and purse from the closet and went out the front door.

Moira took her phone out of her pocket and dialed Felicity’s extension at work.

“IT department. This is Felicity Smoak.”

“Felicity, this is Moira. Oliver just came home and I thought you would want to know.”

“How is he?”

“He’s quiet. I think he was a little overwhelmed by seeing the house and us. Are you planning on coming over tonight?”

“No. I want to give him a little time to get used to being home. Has he said anything about me?”

“No. but he did tell me that he didn’t want to see Laurel.” Moira looked at the glass in her hand. “I don’t know how long I can keep her at bay. She is very determined to see him.”

“Maybe. When is the hearing?”

“Tomorrow morning. I already asked Ned Foster and he said that you would be married when they declare him alive.” Moira sipped her drink. “I actually asked what would have happened if Robert was found alive.”

“I’m sorry he wasn’t found too. I’ll be there in a day or two to see him. Tonight should be for the three of you.”

“Thank you. Give Anna a kiss for me.” Moira smiled.

“I will.” The call disconnected.

Walter walked into the room. “Who was on the telephone?”

“I called Ms. Smoak to let her know he was home.” Moira took a drink from her glass and sat it down to refill it.

“Is she coming tonight?” Walter glanced up at the stairs.

“No.” Moira went over and leaned her forehead against Walter’s chest. “I just want them to be happy. I want them all to be happy.”

Walter rubbed her back. After seeing Oliver, he wasn’t sure if the young man would ever be the way he had been. He didn’t have the heart to tell Moira what he was thinking. It would only destroy her.

-

Felicity’s phone rang as soon as she sat behind the wheel of her car in the parking garage. She looked at the caller and sighed.

“Ginger, I’m on my way to get Anna and the daycare doesn’t like it when I’m late.”

“This will only take a minute. So I hear your husband is alive and well.”

Felicity sighed. “Yes he is. What is it?”

“You know that you two are still married. When are you going to see him and tell him?”

“I don’t know. I just talked to his mom and she says he was having a rough time. I think I need to give him a day or two.”

“Don’t wait too long. You need to figure things out before he starts dating some girl that isn’t you.”

“From the sounds of things, I don’t have to worry about that. You shouldn’t worry about it either. What is going on with you and Jeff? Mom said you are separated.”

“We’re getting a divorce. I’m making him sign away his rights too. He was never much of a father to the baby.”

“Maybe if you hadn’t named him after an ex-boyfriend, he would have been.”

“Hey! Tommy Merlyn was not my ex-boyfriend. He was just a guy I liked once.”

“Uh huh.”

“Felicity, I have been thinking and I want to move to Starling City. I have already sent out some feelers for a job.”

Felicity looked at her phone. “Ginger, are you telling me that you are coming here to chase Tommy Merlyn?”

“No! I’m coming to live close to you do that our kids can grow up together like we did. Like our mothers did. If Tommy and I happen to run into each other then it will be a happy coincidence.”

“Uh huh. I better go get Anna. Call me later and we’ll talk some more.”

“Got it.” Ginger disconnected the call

Felicity stared at the phone again. Ginger was the last person she needed to deal with. Oliver was going to need all of her attention. That is, if he wanted it. She could already feel the headache coming on.

Felicity started the car and left the parking garage. She headed for the school to pick up Anna. What she needed was grilled cheese and a night looking at the wedding album with her daughter.  


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

It was two days later when Felicity knocked on the door of the Queen Mansion. She was nervous about how Oliver would react when he saw her again.

The door opened and the housekeeper smiled at her. “Hello Ms. Smoak. Can I help you?”

“Mr. Queen is having problems with his computer. I came to fix it.” Felicity lied.

“Come in. You can wait for him in there.” The housekeeper motioned to the front sitting room. “I will tell him you are here Ms. Smoak.”

Felicity nodded and went in to wait. She stood staring at the model boat. Her nervousness was starting to get the best of her. She was just about to leave when she heard someone coming down the stairs.

“Hello?” Oliver said as he walked in. He looked at the back of a petite blonde and frowned.

Felicity turned around. “Hello Mr. Queen. I'm here to fix your computer. Would you show me where it is?”

Oliver’s eyes went wide. He took a few steps closer to her and whispered. “Felicity? Is that you?”

Felicity nodded. “I'm sure I can get it working if you will take me to it. I’m really good at fixing computers.”

Felicity really looked at Oliver. He looked older to her. His hair was short and he had a scruffy chin. His eyes were the same blue but they were clouded. She couldn’t tell if it was pain or confusion.

“Um… It’s in my room.” Oliver finally said after a beat. “Follow me.”

Felicity followed him to his bedroom and waited for him to shut the door behind them. She was surprised when he locked the door.

“I can’t believe it’s really you.” Oliver looked at her. “You're a blonde.”

“I dye it.” Felicity walked forward and put her hands on his chest. “Are you okay? Were you hurt?”

“I'm fine.” Oliver put his hands over hers. “I never expected to see you again. I thought you had forgotten all about me. Why are you here? How are you here?”

“I live in Starling City. I work at Queen Consolidated in the IT department. I took the job right after I graduated from MIT.” Felicity smiled at him. “I never forgot you, Oliver. I could never forget you. I came here because we have to talk.”

“About what? You sound like it’s really serious.” Oliver frowned.

“It is. We are married. Real married. When you were declared legally alive again that made us married again.” Felicity said as she looked up at him. “I checked with a lawyer and everything.”

“But that was fake. It was just for fun.” Oliver took her hands from his chest and held them. He rubbed her knuckles with his thumb. “There were nights on the island that I wished it had been real but we didn't have a license so it couldn’t have been.”

“It was included in the deluxe package you picked out. I checked it out. We were legally married.” Felicity said. “Wait, you thought about me?”

“Yes I did.” Oliver took a breath. “I dreamed that we were together and happy. I dreamed of having a family with you. But you weren't blonde in my dreams. You had dark hair.”

“Oliver, I dreamed about that too but I woke up a widow.” Felicity said. “I can't believe this.”

“Have you told anyone that we're married?” Oliver asked. “Raisa called you Ms. Smoak.”

“I use my maiden name. My mom knows and so does Ginger. I haven’t said anything to anyone else but your mom knows too. She told me that she knew.” Felicity pulled him over to the love seat and sat down with him. “It showed up on the background check for new employees.”

“She hasn't said anything to me.” Oliver frowned. “I’ve been home for a few days. You would think she would tell me my wife is working for the family company.”

“I think she has been waiting on me to come here.” Felicity said. “I think she expects us to have some big romantic scene or something. I thought this would be less shocking to you.”

Oliver sighed. “Felicity, if I had known you were in Starling City, I would have come to see you as soon as I got home. I was thinking of hiring a private investigator to find you.”

Felicity smiled. “Oliver, there is something else I need to tell you.”

“What is it?” Oliver asked.

“It’s not really a something as much as a someone.” Felicity clarified.

Oliver’s stomach twisted. She was about to tell him she had moved on. He could feel the bottom starting to fall out from under him.

Felicity pulled out her phone from her coat pocket. She opened a photo and showed it to him.

He took the phone and looked at it. “Who is she? Is she your daughter? She looks a little like... Thea. Is she our daughter?”

“Yes. Her name is Anna Olivia. Your mom knows about her too. They are fond of each other.” Felicity said. “Your mom spent a lot of time with Anna when she was in the in-house daycare. Now she’s at preschool and they haven’t seen each other in a while.”

“She’s beautiful.” Oliver sat there and stared at the photo. “She doesn’t even know me. I’m her Dad and she doesn’t know me.”

“She knows who you are. I show her the pictures from our honeymoon all the time. She knows that she has your eyes and your smile.” Felicity leaned her head against his shoulder. 

“I want to see her.” Oliver asked. “Unless you don’t want me to.”

“I want you to but I didn't know how you would react to seeing me. I thought that it would be too much all at once if I brought her with me.” Felicity said.

“No kidding.” Oliver handed the phone back to Felicity and wiped his face. “When can I see her?”

“That’s one of the things we need to talk about.” Felicity said. “We need to decide what’s going to happen from this point on. I have it down to three options.”

“What are they?” Oliver asked. He was getting a little nervous.

“Option one is we divorce quietly and you have no formal contact with Anna.” Felicity started.

“I’m not going for that. I want to be her dad. I am her dad.” Oliver said.

“Okay then.” Felicity was suddenly relieved. “Option two is we divorce and we have formal custody and visitation agreements. Option three is a little more complicated.”

“What’s option three, Felicity?” Oliver asked when she hesitated.

“You come live with us and we try to be a family. You and I would be married with everything that means. We would give it six months then if it isn’t working then we go to option two.” Felicity said. “There is one thing that I want to make clear. If you become a part of Anna’s life you can never walk away from her even if things don’t work out with us.”

“I understand.” Oliver said. “I don’t think I could walk away now. Felicity, I think I know what I want already.”

“No. Think about it.” Felicity said. “Anna has a sleep over on Friday night. Come over and we can have dinner and talk some more. Give me your phone so I can put my number in it.”

Oliver pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Felicity, may I have a photo of Anna.”

Felicity reached up and stroked his cheek. “Sure Daddy. I’ll text one to you. Maybe more than one. Your mom has a lot of photos of Anna. I haven’t seen them in any of the frames but I’m sure she has them on her laptop.”

“I can’t believe my mom hasn’t made a grand announcement.” Oliver said with a smile.

Felicity handed him his phone and texted a photo to him.

“She couldn’t without proof. There was no way to do a paternity test. Speaking of which, we need to have one done so there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Anna is your daughter.” Felicity said. She left out the part where she hadn’t made it easy for Moira Queen to claim her granddaughter.

“I agree. When should we do it?” Oliver asked.

“I’ll set it up.” Felicity said. “Oliver, I’m not keeping her from you but I want everything to be settled before you meet her.”

“Okay.” Oliver said. “I’ll go along with that. Where do you live?”

“I sent the address to you in the text. Remember Friday at seven.” Felicity stood up she kissed him on the cheek. “I better go. And as far as your computer, Mr. Queen, get a new one. That one is so obsolete that it would be pointless to try to upgrade it.”

“Hey Mrs. Queen.” Oliver captured her hand with his. “I’m home now and you don’t have to raise our daughter alone anymore.”

“I’m glad you’re okay.” Felicity managed to say. She pulled her hand out of his and headed for the door. She turned back before she turned the knob. “Oliver, you should talk to your mom before you make your decision. Let her tell you about Anna.”

“I will. See you.” Oliver smiled.

“Yeah. See you.” Felicity opened the door and walked out.

Oliver sat on the sofa and stared at the photo on his phone. “Daddy’s home. I’ll see you soon, my little queen.”

Felicity let herself out of the Queen mansion. She was so deep in thought that she didn’t see Moira Queen standing in the sitting room looking out towards the foyer.

Moira took a deep breath and sat down her drink. She climbed the stairs to her son’s room. She knew it was time for her to have a conversation with Oliver about Felicity and Anna.

Moira knocked on the door and opened it. “Oliver, I need to speak to you.”

Oliver sat on the sofa staring at his phone. “Yeah you do. Why didn’t you tell me about my daughter as soon as I got home?”

“I wanted to give you time to adjust.” Moira said. “I just saw Felicity leave. When is she bringing over Anna?”

“Felicity and I are working things out.” Oliver looked up. “It will take a little while for things to get settled.”

“Felicity can’t keep your daughter from you.” Moira said. She was slightly frustrated that she wouldn’t get to see her granddaughter as soon as she had hoped.

“Felicity isn’t keeping Anna from me but we have to make sure we are doing what’s right for her and us.” Oliver said.

“Us?” Moira asked. “I just assumed you were going to get a divorce.”

“There is a possibility that we’ll stay married.” Oliver said.

“You were married to a stranger for two weeks. I don’t really think that is the basis of a healthy marriage.” Moira said. “How much do you really know about each other?”

“I know enough.” Oliver stood up and put his phone on the desk. “Felicity said that you have photos of Anna. I want to see them all and I want copies.”

“Of course.” Moira said. “Oliver, I have done all that Felicity would let me do for your daughter. She hasn’t asked for any support or anything else for that matter. She seems almost embarrassed when I give her something for Anna.”

“But you have had the chance to have a relationship with Anna. Felicity told me that you spent a lot of time with her before she went to preschool.” Oliver said. “That was very generous of Felicity to do that.”

“It was. That was why I was hoping to see Anna. I miss her.” Moira said. “I’m sure she misses me as well.”

“Mom, she’s … she’s my daughter.” Oliver said angrily. “She should miss me. I have never held her or … heard her call me ‘Daddy’.”

“Oliver, I didn’t mean to make you feel that my feelings were all that mattered.” Moira said. “I’ll go email you a copy of all the photos I have of Anna.”

“Anna Olivia … her name is Anna Olivia.” Oliver leaned on the desk.

“I didn’t know that. I have only heard her called Anna Smoak.” Moira said.

Oliver looked up at his mother. “Felicity doesn’t have any proof that Anna is mine so she couldn’t let everyone know she was my daughter.”

“She may not have any but I have it.” Moira said.

“What do you mean?” Oliver stood and faced his mother.

“I did a DNA test the first week Anna was in daycare. I had her DNA compared against mine and Thea’s. Anna was a match.” Moira told him. “I think they called it ‘familial’ match.”

“You had the proof all this time and you didn’t tell Felicity? Felicity had a right to know. She and Anna should have been taken care of. They would have been here … in this house when I came home.”  Oliver slammed his fist on the desk. “Get out. I can’t look at you right now.”

Moira slipped out the door. She knew Oliver had a right to be angry at her. She should have told Felicity that there was proof that Anna was Oliver’s daughter. Moira had made a huge mistake and she didn’t know what would happen because of it.                      

Moira went to the den to send her son the photos of his daughter. She had to think of a way to make it up to all three of them.

-

It was just after seven on Friday when Oliver showed up at the townhouse with a bottle of champagne. Felicity met him at the door in a red dress and smiled as he handed her the bottle.

“Hi. It needs to be chilled. I had it in the storage compartment.” Oliver held up his helmet. “I brought my bike.”

“I didn't even know you had a motorcycle.” Felicity led him into the living room. “Sit down and I'll put this on ice. Well, in the freezer at least. Dinner will be ready in a minute.”

Oliver looked around before he sat down on the sofa. “This place looks different than I expected. There's more color.”

“I'm not Goth anymore and Anna likes bright colors.” Felicity said from the kitchen. She came back in with a bottle of red wine and two glasses. “This is not as good as you're used to but I like it.”

“I haven't had wine in so long I don't think I'd notice.” Oliver smiled as she sat down beside him. “Are you trying to get me drunk?”

Felicity laughed. She poured wine into a glass and handed it to him. “I would never do that. I made pot roast. I hope that's okay.”

“Anything is fine. I haven’t had much of an appetite these days.” Oliver took a sip of the wine. “This isn't bad.”

Felicity put her hand on his knee. “I'm glad you're home. How are you adjusting to being back?”

“They try to tip toe around me but it just makes me more anxious. I'm not the same and they want me to be the way I was.” Oliver looked into his glass. “I guess I have changed more than they expected.”

“I’ve changed too. I'm not the girl you married anymore.” Felicity smiled. “Do you think we've changed too much?”

“I don't know but I want to try to be a family with you.” Oliver put his glass on the coffee table. “All I could do while I was gone was to think of you and the promises I made before we left Las Vegas. I still want to have that life.”

“So option three is what you want?” Felicity looked into his eyes.

“Yes.” Oliver smiled. Suddenly he was serious. “But there are some things that you should know before you take me back. You may not want me back after you hear what I tell you.”

“What kind of things?” Felicity began to worry a little about what he was going to say.

“In the five years that I was gone, I wasn't always on the island. I was taken to Hong Kong and forced to work for a covert organization. The person that I reported to threatened to kill my mother and sister if I didn't cooperate. When they finally let me go, I went to Russia to work for someone that I had met on the island. He was in the Bratva. I went back to the island when I was ready to come home.” Oliver waited for her to process what he had just told her.

“You could have come home before now?” Felicity put her glass down and stood up. She turned to face him. “I needed you. We needed you.”

“I didn't know. I thought it wasn’t safe yet when I went to Russia. I needed to make sure that they would leave Mom and Thea alone. I didn’t know you were here with Anna. They must not have known about you or her.” Oliver rubbed his head. “I'm sorry. I would have come home as soon as I was free if I had known.”

“I've been here for three years.” Felicity put her hand over her mouth. “You've been in the Russian mob?”

Oliver nodded. He wiped his hands over his face.  

“Oh God Oliver! Have you killed people?” Felicity asked suddenly.

“Yes.” Oliver looked at the floor. “I killed for the organization and the Bratva. I seem to be good at it.”  

“Oliver!” Felicity walked back to the sofa and sat back down. “What if someone finds out what you did? You'll leave us again. Maybe for good next time.”

“I wanted you to know. I don't want there to be secrets between us.” Oliver reached out for her hand but she pulled back. “You're my wife. I can trust you. I know you wouldn’t ever testify against me.”

“No. I wouldn’t. I can't but if someone else knows, they can tell the authorities. If there is any evidence then they can put you in prison.” Felicity thought for a moment. “I could get rid of it. Hack all the databases to scrub all the evidence of the things you did.”

“You would do that for me? I can’t let you. It would put you at risk too.” Oliver reached out for her again and this time she didn’t pull away. “I love you too much for you to be put at risk like that.” 

“It would be my choice. I wouldn’t just be doing it for you. I would be doing it for all three of us.” Felicity stroked his cheek. “It would be for our family.”

Oliver leaned over and kissed her slow and soft. He pulled back and smiled. The spark was still there.

Felicity's hand came up and caressed his cheek again. She looked into his eyes she couldn't tell what he was thinking. He had become better at hiding his feelings. “Oliver?”

“I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that.” Oliver was more affected than expected by the kiss.

“Right! Because you should never kiss your wife.” Felicity smiled with a hint of sadness. She dropped her hand and looked away.

“Felicity. Please.” Oliver leaned closer to her. He stroked her cheek. “I just meant it may be too soon for us to be … intimate.”

Her words stung him. He had to make her see that she did matter to him. He moved closer and gently turned her face to look at his. He kissed her again pulling her into his lap.

She straddled him and opened her mouth to his tongue. She put her hands on his shoulders and let him pull her even closer.

Suddenly, Felicity pulled back breathless. “Oliver, wait. We need to talk more.”  

“Sorry. I ... It’s been so long since we have been together. I got carried away.” Oliver brushed back her hair.

“I know.” Felicity leaned her forehead against his. She got up and sat beside him again. “I feel it too. I feel so much right not. We need to slow down just a little. Let's eat then we need to make some arrangements. We need to talk about Anna. If I let you get to know her you can’t abandon her. She needs us both.“

“You mean like your father abandoned you and your mom?” Oliver took a breath. “Felicity, we were going to be together before this happened. I was committed to you then and I'm committed to you now. To both of you now.” 

“Remember that you said that because you can't cheat on me like you did Laurel. I will throw you out.” Felicity warned him.

“I know and you don’t have to worry about that.” Oliver nodded. “The reason that I cheated on Laurel was that she pressured me. You have never done that. I have always been able to talk to you. I love you, Felicity.”

“I love you too but this isn't like our honeymoon.” Felicity looked at him. “We have to live together and raise our daughter. It’s serious and forever. Marriage is hard even when you love someone.”

“I get that.” Oliver reached out for her hand. “I want to try. I want the things that I promised you right before I left Las Vegas.”  

“I want them too but we are going to have to work hard to make them happen. I don’t want to be a single mom again, Oliver.” Felicity’s eyes were wet when she looked at him. “I hate it.”

“It’s my fault you were alone at least part of the time and I have to make it up to you. I have to make up for a lot of things.” Oliver set his jaw. “So does my mother.”

“What are you talking about?” Felicity asked.

“My mother has had proof that Anna is my daughter since the first week you were in Starling City. She did a DNA test to compare Anna’s DNA with hers and Thea’s and it matched.” Oliver told her.

Felicity took a breath. “She never said anything.”

“She should have. You should have been living in the house as soon as she got the results. You should have taken your place as my wife and you should have been supported and cared for.” Oliver said. “I got angry when I heard that she knew and didn’t do anything.”

“It’s not entirely on her. I could have made a claim but I didn’t, even after I suspected that she knew.” Felicity said. “Your mom and I have both made mistakes.”

“Felicity, I want us to move into the house until we find a place of our own.” Oliver said. “Will you do that?”

“Not right away. I want us to bond here first then we can start to look for a new place. There is one thing. If we separate what will happen? Will I have to take Anna and go?” Felicity asked.

“No. The house will be in your name. It will be Anna’s home. I wouldn’t take that from my daughter or from you.” Oliver assured her.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

The timer on the oven sounded in the kitchen.

“That’s dinner. Bring your glass and come into the kitchen. That’s where we eat.” Felicity picked up her glass and the bottle of wine and stood up.

Oliver picked up his glass and followed her into the small kitchen. He sat down at the table where Felicity pointed. He smiled at the drawings plastered all over the refrigerator.

Felicity pulled the pot out of the oven and sat it on top of the stove. She plated the food and brought the two plates to the table.

“I hope it’s okay. It’s the fanciest thing I know how to make.” Felicity waited for him to taste is food.

Oliver took a bite. “This is really good. It’s better than lizard and pheasant on a spit.”

“Wow! Is that what you ate there?” Felicity made a face. “No wonder you look so thin.”

“My mom says that I lost my ‘baby fat’.” Oliver smirked.

“I still haven’t lost all of mine especially after I gained forty pounds with Anna.” Felicity laughed.

Oliver looked at her and smiled. “You must have been beautiful.”

“I was a beached whale but it was worth it. I suppose you will get to see for yourself if we have another baby.” Felicity took a bite and watched his face.

Oliver’s smile grew as he thought about another child with Felicity. “I can’t wait.”

“Really? You want another baby with me?” Felicity was surprised.

“Yes. We were supposed to have six and by my calculations we are really behind in that.” Oliver grinned at her.

“Calculations?” Felicity laughed.

Oliver grinned and shrugged.

“So, I set up the paternity test for Monday at seven in the morning. I’ll text you the address later. I wonder if we should even go ahead now that I know that Moira has proof already.” Felicity pushed a carrot to the side of her plate.

“We still need one. The lawyers will need a standard one for the trust.” Oliver took another bite.

“Trust?” Felicity was confused.

“You and Anna need to be added to the family trust. I thought you knew about that?” Oliver said. “You’re my wife and Anna is my daughter. You are both part of the Queen family.”

Felicity blinked at him for a minute before she shook her head. “I didn’t even think of that. I’m so used to hiding who we are.”

“No more hiding.” Oliver said. “I’m proud of you and our little artist.”

“Artist? Oh the fridge. She loves to color. So does your sister, from what I understand. Thea takes her to the craft table at every company holiday party and summer picnic. It’s really the only time they have spent together.” Felicity pushed another carrot aside. “But we did run into her at the mall last week. Did you know Tommy and Laurel are having a thing?”

Oliver choked. He wiped his mouth with the napkin and took a sip of wine. “What?”

“Thea told me that she overheard Tommy and Laurel making plans to spend the night with each other at her place. It really bothered your sister. Thea said Tommy was like her brother too.” Felicity said. “She didn’t mention it to you?”       

“No! Neither did Tommy.” Oliver shrugged. “I guess I should stay out of it. He knows how she is. He watched her work me for years.”

Felicity raised her eyebrows on that. “Has Laurel tried to see you?”

“Mom told her not to come by the house until I call her. I don’t want to see her. The last time I spoke to her, I yelled at her.” Oliver took a sip of wine. “I don’t know why she wants to see me if she’s with Tommy.”

“That’s a good point. Do you want some cake? It’s red velvet.” Felicity picked up her plate and took it to the sink.

“No. I’m stuffed.” Oliver brought his plate over and put it in the sink too.

Felicity turned and put her arms around his waist. “Do you know how to wash dishes?”

Oliver laughed and pulled her closer. “I know how to do a lot of things.”

Felicity smiled up at him. “I remember some of them. We should talk about when you should move in. The paternity test will take three days. That means we can do the lawyer thing on Thursday.”

“So I move in on Thursday?” Oliver winked at her.

“No. You’ll move in on Friday while Anna is at school. She has another sleepover on Friday. It’s a two day one. I’ll pick her up on Sunday.” Felicity moved her hands up on his back.

“So I’ll have some alone time with you then I get to meet my little girl?” Oliver smiled. “I like that plan.”

Felicity rubbed his back. “Anna won’t be home until tomorrow afternoon. Stay tonight. I want to wake up with my husband.”

“Are you sure?” Oliver asked. “I don’t want to rush you.”

“I’m sure.” Felicity nodded and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. She pulled away and led him by the hand to the stairs.

“I didn’t bring my pajamas.” Oliver grinned as he walked with her.

Felicity laughed. “I don’t remember you ever wearing pajamas. You used to sleep naked with me.”

“You didn’t give me a choice.” Oliver laughed. “Not that I minded a bit.”

“I remember that part.” Felicity led him up the stairs and down the hall.

Oliver glanced into an open doorway. “Felicity, is this Anna’s room?”

“Yes. Go take a look.” Felicity let go of his hand and Oliver walked into the room.

Anna’s room was full of yellow and purple and horses. There were a few toys on the floor and a white rocker with a yellow blanket over the back next to the bed.

Oliver touched the blanket and looked around. “Where did she get the horses on that shelf? They look like something Thea used to have.”

“Your mother gave them to her for her last birthday. She gave Anna that blanket soon after we came here. I kept it at daycare for naptime. Your mom would visit her at naptime. She would wrap Anna in that blanket and rock her in the rocking chair.”

Oliver turned to look at Felicity. “She seems like a normal little girl. Is she smart like you?”

“No but she is very advanced for her age. She can read already.” Felicity said. “We read books on my tablet. She is going to want to read with you at bedtime.”

“I can’t wait.” Oliver took one last look around the room then held out his hand to her. “Let’s go to bed. I can’t wait for that either.”

Felicity giggled. She took his hand and led him to the room at the end of the hallway.

Oliver looked around and smiled. It was decorated in roses. “This looks like the wedding chapel.”

“No it doesn’t, does it?” Felicity looked around. “I guess it sorta does. I never realized that I did that.”

“I bought your fan but I didn’t bring it with me. It has roses on it.” Oliver chuckled. “The lawyer that Mom sent to get me thought I had lost my mind when I went souvenir shopping before I came home.”

“Oh! That must have been really weird for him.” Felicity laughed. “Um… where is my fan?”

“It’s at the house. I will bring it when I move in.” Oliver looked at the bedside table. “You have one of our wedding pictures out where people can see it?”

“Just that one. I haven’t had anyone in here but Anna before now.” Felicity said. “What side of the bed do you want?”

“The side closest to the door.” Oliver hesitated. “I have nightmares.”

“So do I.” Felicity said. “But I think they will stop now that your home.”

Oliver looked at her questioningly.

“I used to dream of you drowning and not being able to save you.” Felicity walked over and put her arms around his waist. “Have I told you that I am so glad you’re home and safe?”

Oliver pulled her closer. “I didn’t realize that it was so hard on you.”

“It was but it’s over.” Felicity pulled him down by the shoulders for a kiss.

Oliver picked her up and carried her over to the bed. He gently put her in the middle of the bed. “Have I ever told you that you drive me crazy when you wear red?”

“I knew that.” Felicity pulled off her glasses and put them on the bedside table. She started to pull up his shirt and he stopped her.

“I have scars.” Oliver said. “They’re pretty bad.”

“Show me.” Felicity said. “I’m your wife. I will see them sooner or later. You know how much I like to take showers with you.”

Oliver sighed and nodded. He pulled his shirt over his head and threw it on the floor. He waited for Felicity to say something.

Felicity touched his chest. “You’re so strong. Look at what you went through. It took so much strength to survive this. I’m so proud of you.”

Oliver leaned down and kissed her. He pushed the skirt of the dress up and pulled down her panties. He didn’t want to wait anymore to be with her.

Felicity took his lead and unzipped his jeans and pushed them and his boxers down.

They fell back on the bed and Oliver pushed her thighs open and entered her in one swift movement.

Felicity gasped and wrapped her legs and arms around him. She needed him now.

They moved hard and fast to an orgasm. It was frantic and rough but they both had craved each other for so long it was cathartic.

After Oliver caught his breath, he went to get up. “Sorry. I just … needed you.”

Felicity grabbed his hand and pulled him back down on the bed. “I know. I needed you too.”

Felicity stripped the rest of way and snuggled against him.  

Oliver pulled her closer and kissed her on the top of the head. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Felicity rubbed his abs. “You’re just like sculpture. Look at your legs and arms!”

Oliver tilted her face up to look in her eyes. “Best wife ever!”

Felicity smiled when he leaned down to kiss her,

“Go to sleep, Oliver.” Felicity whispered. “We have the rest of our lives together now.”

Oliver nodded. He pulled her closer and closed his eyes.   

-

Felicity’s phone rang on the bedside table and she opened an eye. The light in the room was bright.

“Is that yours?” Oliver’s asked. He reached over and picked up the phone and handed it to her. “Who’s Grace?”

Felicity sat up and answered the phone. “Grace, what time is it?”

“It’s almost noon were you still asleep?”

“Yeah. I guess I was tired. Are you getting ready to leave?” Felicity glanced at Oliver.

“We will be there in twenty minutes. That means you’ll have time for a cup of coffee before she gets there.”

“Thanks. I’ll see you soon.” Felicity disconnected the call and looked at Oliver. “You have to go. Anna will be here in less than twenty minutes. Get dressed. I’m going to make coffee.”

“Okay.” Oliver stretched and stood up. He started to get dressed.

Felicity smiled and picked up a nightgown from a chair by the bed and pulled it over her head. She headed down the stairs to the kitchen to make coffee.

Oliver finished getting dressed. He took a box out of his pocket and walked into Anna’s room. He sat it on her pillow and took one more look around before he headed downstairs. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw Felicity’s purse on the hall table. He went over and took out her wallet and looked inside. She had less than twenty dollars in cash. Oliver took the money clip out of his pocket and put all the cash except a twenty in her wallet. He put it back in her purse and headed to the kitchen.

“Did you get lost?” Felicity handed him a cup of coffee. “Black right?”

“Yeah. I was looking at Anna’s room. Mom has one picked out for her already. It’s between mine and Thea’s. Thea used to use it as a playroom.” Oliver blew on the coffee before taking a sip.

“Great! Your mom already has us moving in. I like your mom but I don’t know how long I would still like her if we lived under the same roof.” Felicity leaned against the counter and sipped her coffee.

“Don’t worry as soon as we find a place, we would be out of there. Anna could keep her room for sleepovers with Grandma.” Oliver grinned.

“Grandma? Oh that’s going to be so funny.” Felicity laughed. “I know she has been in Anna’s life for a while now but hearing Anna call her ‘Grandma’ is going to make me laugh.”

“Me too.” Oliver chuckled. He sat his cup in the sink. He leaned over and kissed her. “I better go. I’ll call later.”

“Oliver, since you don’t want to hide, why don’t we have lunch on Monday? There’s a deli a few blocks from QC. Do you know it?” Felicity pulled on his sleeve.

“Yes. Meet me at noon?” Oliver put his hand on her back and they walked to the front door.

“Noon is good.” Felicity smiled.

Oliver picked up his helmet from the hall table and gave her another kiss before heading out the front door.

Oliver had just left on his bike when Grace pulled up to the curb.

Grace got out of the car. “Who was that?”

Felicity shrugged. “Someone I know.”

Grace opened the door for Anna and got her things from the back.

“Hi Mommy.” Anna looked at Felicity. “Why are you in your night gown?”

“I slept late.” Felicity smiled. “Get your things and put them in your room.”

Anna took the bag and sleeping bag from Grace and went inside and up the stairs to her room.

“Was this sleeping alone or was the biker guy involved?” Grace asked as she walked up on the porch. “Seriously, it’s not like you to bring a man home. You have been a virtual nun since I’ve known you.”

“I’m Jewish I can’t be a nun.” Felicity smirked. “He is … special to me.”

“How is it that nobody knows about this?” Grace leaned against the door frame. “We tell each other everything and I don’t even know about it.”

“I guess we don’t tell each other everything then.” Felicity said. “I do tell you a lot of things. Some of them are private things that not even my mother knows.”

“Yeah but not about him.” Grace raised an eyebrow at her. “Does your mother know about him?”

“Yes, she does.” Felicity grinned. “I called her about him. She didn’t say much.”

“Mommy! I have a present!” Anna came flying down the stairs holding a small black jewelry box. “See!”

Felicity went inside and Grace followed her.

“What is it?” Felicity asked.

Anna opened the box and showed it to Felicity. “It’s a crown.”

The gold necklace in the box looked like the one Oliver gave Felicity as a present on their honeymoon but without the diamonds.

“There’s a card.” Felicity pulled the card out of the top of the box and read it aloud. “For my little queen.”

“Can I wear it now, Mommy?” Anna looked at Felicity hopefully.

“No. It’s for special days.” Felicity put the card back in the top of the box. “Put it in your top drawer so it won’t get lost.”

“Okay.” Anna pouted for a second then smiled. “Can we have pizza?”

“I don’t think I have enough money for pizza. Sorry Baby.” Felicity sighed. She looked at Grace, who was looking at her suspiciously. “What?”

“My little queen? Is that why she tells the girls that she can’t play princess because she’s a queen?” Grace asked.

“Probably.” Felicity grinned and shrugged.

“Mommy! You have lots of monies in your wallet. Please, can we have pizza?” Anna handed Felicity her wallet.

Felicity looked inside and gasped at the cash inside. There was over a thousand dollars stuffed inside.

“That looks like enough for pizza.” Grace said. “Felicity, that wasn’t a professional visit was it?”

Felicity looked up with a shocked look on her face. “No! I would never do that. He must have put it in when I was out of the room.”

“Who is he?” Grace probed trying to get a name.

“It doesn’t matter. Thanks for bringing Anna home.” Felicity started toward the door. “Say ‘thank you’ to Grace for letting you sleepover, Anna.”

“Thank you.” Anna said with a big smile.

“You are both welcome and I better get going before the husband wants something.” Grace walked out and got in her car. She glanced back when Felicity shut the door.

“Get my phone from my room and I’ll order pizza.” Felicity said to Anna as she locked the door.

“Yay!” Anna ran up the stairs to Felicity’s room.

“Put your necklace away while you are up there.” Felicity looked in her wallet again. “I can’t believe he did that.”

-.

Oliver walked into the mansion. He had a big smile on his face.

Thea bounced down the stairs. “Isn't that what you were wearing when you left last night? What's her name?”

Oliver laughed. “I'm not going to answer that. Where's Mom?”

“I think she’s in the living room.” Thea said. She passed him and went into the living room.  “Mom, guess who's doing the walk of shame.”

“Thea, must you be so crude?” Moira frowned at her daughter. She looked at Oliver. “Well? How did things go?”

“Now who's being crude?” Thea plopped down on the sofa.

“Fine Mom. We have a plan.” Oliver poured a glass of water.

Thea frown this time. “You have a plan? Since when does a one night stand lead to a plan?”

“It wasn't a one night stand, Speedy.” Oliver sat next to her. “Mom hasn't told you anything, has she?”

“I wasn't sure I should.” Moira sat gracefully down in a chair.

Oliver looked at his sister. “Thea, I'm married. I was with my wife last night.”

“You married Laurel? When?” Thea asked. She looked at Moira for an answer.

“No, not Laurel.” Oliver glanced at Moira. “Her name is Felicity.”

“Felicity? You married Mom's friend?” Thea looked shocked. “When?”

“Five years ago.” Oliver took a breath. “Tommy and I went to Las Vegas. I married her then I came home and got on the boat with Dad.”

“Anna. She's your kid.” Thea looked at Moira. “Why didn't you tell me that she was Oliver's kid? I played with her. I always thought it was weird that she looks a lot like me.”

“I noticed that too. Her dark hair comes from Felicity. She wasn't a blonde when I married her.” Oliver laughed. “She was very Goth at the time.”

“Felicity was Goth?!” Thea laughed. “You thought Goth girls were weird. You swore you would never date a Goth girl.”

“She wasn't dressed as a Goth when I married her.” Oliver grinned. “She was wearing a borrowed blue dress and her friend did her makeup. She was beautiful. She's even more beautiful now.”

“Sounds like you really love her.” Thea smiled.

“I do.” Oliver smiled. “I can't wait to get back to the plans we had before I was stuck on that island.” 

“Plans?” Thea asked.

“We were going to have six kids and live here to drive Mom crazy.” Oliver chuckled. “We're a little behind.”

“I would love having grandchildren running through the halls.” Moira smiled.

“I’m glad but I'm getting tired just thinking about it. I'm going to my room.” Oliver got up and kissed Thea and his Mom before heading upstairs.

“Is that why you told Laurel to stay away?” Thea asked.

“Yes.” Moira sighed. “Felicity is a good mother and a sweet girl. I think your brother made a good choice.”

Thea gave her mother a suspicious look. “Mom, why didn't you tell me who she was?”

“I was waiting for Felicity to tell you. She didn't admit that she was Oliver's wife until I confronted her.” Moira explained. “She didn't want us to feel like she was just after the family's money.”

“She is family. It’s her money too.” Thea got up and headed upstairs.

Moira sighed. She was glad Thea knew finally but she should have been the one to tell her.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Tommy knocked on Oliver’s door late the next morning. “Hey Ollie, are you up?”

Oliver got up off the sofa and opened the door. “I know that look. That's the look you give me before you get me in trouble.”

“I got a new car and you haven't seen Starling City in a while. I thought we could drive around a bit.” Tommy said with a grin.

“You are going to take me to where Laurel lives now, aren't you?” Oliver sat back down on the sofa.

“She's been dying to see you and your mom keeps telling her to wait.” Tommy sat down next to Oliver. “I don't get it. Your mom you used to practically push you two together.”

“Tommy, do you remember Honey?” Oliver looked at him.

“Yeah. The girl you fake married in Las Vegas. What about her?” Tommy asked.

“It wasn't fake. She and I are really married.” Oliver said.

“So get a divorce or something.” Tommy shrugged. “That was five years ago. She's probably moved on to a stock broker or whatever girls like her end up with. I know a private detective you can hire.”

“I know where Honey is.” Oliver said.

“Then what's the problem?” Tommy asked. “Have one of your many lawyers draw up some papers.”

“I don't want a divorce.” Oliver said. “I asked her to take me back. She said ‘yes’. I’m going to be her husband.”

“Wait. Does Moira know about her? Has she seen her? The last time I saw her she was Goth. Have you seen her? Is she still Goth?” Tommy hammered him with questions.

“I've seen her and she looks really normal now.” Oliver said with a smile. “I still love her. She still loves me too.”

“Oliver, this is crazy. I tried to talk you out of it when we left Las Vegas.” Tommy sighed. “I guess you’ll do what you want. Where has she been while you were away?”

“She was at MIT for a while before she came to Starling City.” Oliver told him. “She works at Queen consolidated in the IT department.”

“Your wife works for your family’s company.” Tommy laughed. “That is just ... Oliver, who else knows she's your wife?”

“The person in security that did her background check. Mom knows.” Oliver shrugged. “I don't know if Walter knows or not. Thea just found out. I’m surprised she didn’t know before now.”

“How well does your mom know her? Is that why she keeps putting Laurel off?” Tommy asked.

“Yeah. She and Mom are pretty close.” Oliver picked up his phone and showed Tommy a picture of Anna with Moira. “There is a reason they're close.”

Tommy looked at the phone. “Is that Thea? No. That's not Thea. Who is that little girl?”

“My daughter.” Oliver said.

“With Honey?” Tommy handed the phone back to him. “If the kid is the reason you want to get back with her ...”

“No. I do love her.” Oliver said. “I never stopped loving her. I want another chance and she is willing to give it to me.”

“Laurel is going to freak.” Tommy said.

“Why? Aren't you and Laurel having a thing?” Oliver looked at photo on the phone.

“Who told you that?” Tommy looked startled.

“Honey told me. Thea told her.” Oliver said.

“Shit! Thea gossips with her?” Tommy wiped his hand over his face. “Look it just happened a few times.”

Oliver shrugged. “I'm a married man. You're not and Laurel is not my wife.”

“You still want to take that ride? I think we could both use some air.” Tommy asked. “I promise I won't take you to see Laurel.”

Oliver nodded. He got up and grabbed his keys and jacket.

“So are they moving in here?” Tommy looked around.

“I want them to and so does Mom. She and I are going to stay at her place for a while first.” Oliver said. “Tommy, try to keep it yourself until Honey and I make it public. The last thing I need is Laurel causing trouble.”

“Nobody would ever believe me if I told them. Especially not Laurel.” Tommy patted Oliver on the shoulder and led the way out.

-

Oliver had never been early for anything in his life so it was very unusual that he was five minutes early for his appointment for the paternity test. He was escorted into the Doctor’s private office and a swab was taken.

He sat down to wait for Felicity and Anna. He wanted to get a peek at his little girl, if only for a moment. He didn't have to wait long.

Felicity sent him a text before she and Anna came into the office to tell him they were there.

Oliver peeked out the office door as Anna chatted away about something and Felicity nodded occasionally.

He smiled as Felicity looked around for him. He opened the door a little more to wave at her. He closed it back.

Felicity walked closer to the door so Oliver could hear Anna taking about an upcoming sleepover. Felicity looked at him and winked.

The nurse called Felicity and Anna back to an exam room.

Oliver slipped out of the office and went out to get on his bike to leave.

He smiled as he put on his helmet and started his bike.

-

A few minutes after noon, Felicity walked into the deli and looked around. She hoped Oliver wasn’t late when she didn’t see him at first. She finally saw Oliver when he stood up and waved. He was in the back in a corner booth. She smiled and headed towards him.

Oliver kissed her on the cheek when she got to the table before she sat down.

“I thought you were going to be late.” Felicity admitted.

“I know you don’t have very long for lunch so I got here a few minutes early.” Oliver waved at the waitress. “I think we should order. Do you know what you want?”

The waitress came over to the table and smiled. “What are you having?”

“I want a roast beef and cheddar on pumpernickel and a soda.” Felicity smiled. “It comes with chips and a pickle, right?”

The waitress nodded. “It does.” 

“I’ll have ham and Swiss on white and a soda.” Oliver handed the waitress the menu that was on the table.

Felicity laughed when the waitress left.

“What did I do?” Oliver was confused. He didn’t know what she was laughing at.     

“You need to expand your sandwich choices. I bet that is the same thing you ordered when you came here with your dad.” Felicity grinned up at him.

“It was. I happen to like it.” Oliver put his arm on the back of the booth behind her and moved closer. “Maybe you should teach me a thing or two.”

“I plan to.” Felicity giggled when he started to nuzzle her neck. “Oliver! We’re in public.”

“We aren’t going to hide. Remember?” Oliver kissed her cheek. “I want the world to know we are together.”

“I want that too.” Felicity turned to look up into his eyes before he kissed her slow and soft.

At the counter, Grace had just come in to pick up an order from the group that she was having lunch with. She saw Felicity in the booth kissing some man. She raised an eyebrow at them and paused for a moment when she realized that the man Felicity was kissing was Oliver Queen. 

Oliver and Felicity didn’t see Grace looking at them. They were in their own little world. Grace left without interrupting them.

The waitress brought their food a few minutes later and they started to eat.

“Take a bite of mine.” Felicity held up half of her sandwich. “Just try something different.”

Oliver took a bite and chewed thoughtfully. He nodded and took a sip of soda. “It’s okay.”

“Just okay?” Felicity stole a potato chip from his plate.

“Okay! I really liked it. Maybe, I’ll order it next time.” Oliver kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you for sharing.”

“Anytime.” Felicity grinned. “’Next time’ means we are going to do this again, right?”

“I like it here. Dad and I used to get lunch here on my days off from school. I liked to hang out with him.” Oliver smiled as he remembered those days. “Mom and Thea would go shopping and I never wanted to go with them.”

“You miss him, don’t you?” Felicity looked up at him.

“Yeah. I do.” Oliver said quietly. “Sometimes, I wonder why I had to be the only one to survive. It doesn’t seem fair to Mom or Thea.”

“Are they still doing the ‘tiptoe’ thing?” Felicity asked.

“Yeah. You’re the only one that isn’t. I think it’s because I know I can talk to you about anything and you won’t think I need to go spend the weekend in the psych ward.” Oliver looked down at his plate and sighed.

“Wow! Did someone actually say that to you?” Felicity rubbed his arm.

“No. Not to me but I heard the doctor tell Mom that it may be a good idea if I don’t seem to be coping.” Oliver looked at her. “Do you think I’m that different?”

“You’re quiet but that’s to be expected after everything you’ve been through. I don’t think you need to be locked up or anything.” Felicity reached up and stroked his cheek. “You have crumbs in your … stubble?”

Oliver smirked. “Are you teasing me about my beard?”

“Beard? Really?” Felicity squinted at his cheek. “Is that what you’re calling it?”

“Hey! You’re a blonde.” Oliver tapped her nose with his finger.

Felicity looked at him with a mischievous grin.

Oliver was instantly on alert. He knew from experience that she was about to do something outrageous. He had no idea what to expect.

Felicity leaned close to him and whispered in his ear. “I want your pickle. I want your pickle. Right now! Right here!”

Oliver licked his lips and smiled. “I don't think this is the place for that.”

Felicity reached under the table and grabbed his knee. “I want it now.”

“Okay.” Oliver raised his eyebrows. He looked around to see if anyone was looking at them.

Felicity kissed him on the cheek and stole his pickle from his plate. “Thanks.”

Oliver took a breath to get his control back. That was not what he thought she meant. “I thought....”

“I bet you did.” Felicity bit into the pickle. She gave is knee another squeeze then reached for her soda.

“You are so naughty.” Oliver whispered in her ear. “I love it.”

Felicity laughed. She looked at her watch. “I have to get back to work. I’ll leave you to your dirty thinky thoughts.”

Oliver laughed. “They are all about you.”

“Better be.” Felicity kissed him and took one last drink of her soda. “Call me later. We’ll make lunch plans for tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Oliver watched as she got up and rushed out to get back to work on time.

A few minutes later, Felicity walked into the server room and found Grace going through the diagnostics. “What’s offline now?”

“Oh just Accounting. The whole section went down. I was trying to find the problem.” Grace looked up at Felicity. “What are you doing having lunch with Oliver Queen?”

“What?” Felicity opened a tray to look for short circuits.

“I saw you at the deli kissing Oliver Queen in a booth in the back. You two were acting like teenagers.” Grace turned to face her. “Please, tell me he isn’t the biker guy.”

“Okay. I won’t tell you.” Felicity said. “Found it. This will take a few minutes, if we have the part.”

“Felicity, he is notorious. You didn’t grow up here but I did. He was a drunken womanizing menace. You need to stay away from him.” Grace warned her.

“I know exactly who he is and what he’s done in the past. He and Tommy were a little wild.” Felicity checked another drawer to make sure the problem hadn’t spread.

“A little?” Grace walked over to where she was working. “I can name at least fifteen girls he slept with that I actually know. I had the good sense to stay away from him. You should stay away from him too.”

“Thanks for your concern but I’m an adult and I make my own decisions.” Felicity was angry and it showed on her face.  

“Just don’t let him come around Anna. You have no idea what that island did to him. He may have a screw loose now.” Grace folded her arms in front of her.

“That’s not your call.” Felicity stood up and looked at Grace. “If you don’t want Katie around him, that’s fine but I say who Anna sees and doesn’t see. Not you. I need to go to the storeroom.”

“Felicity!” Grace stared at Felicity as stormed out of the room.

When Felicity returned, she didn’t speak to Grace for the rest of the day except when she needed to get work done.

-

The next morning, Felicity was running a diagnostic on the servers when Grace came in the server room.

“Hey.” Grace leaned against the open door frame. “I was out of line yesterday. I apologize, Felicity.”

Felicity looked up. “Grace, you’re just going to have to get used to see me with Oliver. Everybody is.”

“Just explain it to me.” Grace frowned. She walked over to Felicity at the desk. “Of all the men in Starling City, why are you with Oliver Queen?”

“Because I love him.” Felicity smiled. “He loves me too. I know what he used to be like and I know he’s been through a horrible experience. He’s still trying to get his feet under him.”

“Do you trust him enough to let him be around Anna?” Grace asked.

“That’s a really dumb question. He would never hurt Anna. I know that with all my heart.” Felicity looked down at the screen when the alert sounded. “These servers are so worn out I don’t even know if I can keep fixing them. They’re being held together with virtual duct tape now.”

“The board didn’t go for your proposal, Ms. Smoak, so I suggest you find a way to make them work.” Mr. Mitchell said from the doorway.

“The only reason the board didn’t go for it, was because you never presented it.” Felicity said.

“Who told you that?” Mr. Mitchell asked.

“Mrs. Queen told me.” Felicity said. “She wants me make the presentation at the next board meeting.” 

“I’m the head of the department. I should be doing it.” Mr. Mitchell glared at Felicity.

Felicity shrugged. “I guess you should take it up with her or Mr. Steel. He’s looking it over for me.”

“I always thought you were after my job. I should just fire you for insubordination.” Mr. Mitchell threatened her.

“Try it.” Felicity got up and walked out of the room.

“Did she just dare me to fire her?” Mr. Mitchell looked at Grace. “What the hell has gotten into her?”

“Oliver Queen.” Grace shook her head.

-

Oliver was almost fifteen minutes late when he came into the break room to meet Felicity for lunch on Tuesday.

Mr. Mitchell jumped in surprise when Oliver knocked on the door. “Mr. Queen, may I help you?”

“You’re late.” Felicity got up to rinse her coffee cup in the sink. “Why are you late?”

“Sorry. I was talking to Tommy on the phone and I got distracted.” Oliver grinned. “I brought Chinese.”

Felicity walked over and looked in the bag. “Good! You remembered the dumplings. What were you talking to Tommy about?”

“He wanted to know if we wanted to go in on a reservation to a restaurant opening.” Oliver looked down at her.

“What did you say?” Felicity asked.

“I told him yes.” Oliver grinned.

“Oliver. Two words. Baby. Sitter.” Felicity wiggled her finger at him.

“Mom and Thea would love to watch Anna for the night.” Oliver grabbed her finger. “It’ll be fun.”

“Just the three of us?” Felicity looked up at him.

“And whoever Tommy is dating.” Oliver winced he knew what was coming.

“Oh! You better make sure it isn’t _her_. That would be super awkward for all four of us.” Felicity tilted her head at him.

“I’ll call him back and make sure.” Oliver sighed.

“When is this thing?” Felicity took the bag from him and looked inside it.

“The end of the month.” Oliver took the bag back. “I thought we could have lunch in one of the empty executive suites.”

“Okay.” Felicity nodded. “Wait! The end of this month? Ginger will be here by then. Tommy can take her.”

“Ginger is coming for a visit?” Oliver asked.

“Ginger is moving to Starling City. She and the baby will be here by the end of the month.” Felicity saw the questioning look on Oliver’s face. “Oh! It’s not Tommy’s. The baby’s only a year old. I told you. Didn’t I tell you?” Felicity took the bag and headed for the elevator.         

Oliver made a face. He wasn’t looking forward to telling Tommy about Ginger.  

“Oliver! The dumplings are getting cold!” Felicity called out from the elevator.

Oliver put his hands in his pockets and ducked his head before leaving the break room.

Mr. Mitchell and Grace looked at each other.

“That was really weird.” Grace looked out the door. She saw Oliver kiss Felicity just as the elevator doors closed.

Oliver led Felicity to an empty office when they stepped off the elevator.

“You know the walls are glass up here. You’re going to have to behave yourself.” Felicity teased him. “No acting out those dirty thinky thoughts, Mister.”

Oliver laughed. He took the bag from her and put it down on the floor of the empty office. He took her hand. “Come here. Let me show you something.”

“Oliver!” Felicity tilted her head.

Oliver walked her over to the window. “What do you think?”

Felicity stepped back. “It’s really high up.”

“I know but do you like the view?” Oliver asked. He led her back over to sit on the floor.

“It’s spectacular. Why?” Felicity joined him and picked up the dumplings when he took them out of the bag.

“Mom wants me to join the company. This will be my office. I will be a junior executive in charge of something made up, I think.” Oliver looked around and chuckled.

“Is that what you want?” Felicity asked.

“I don’t know. I wasn’t really thinking about the company when I was away.” Oliver handed her some chopsticks.

“It’s a little soon.” Felicity passed him the sweet and sour chicken.

“I know but I suppose I will have to join the company eventually. It’s my legacy and Anna’s. I need to be doing something to secure its future.” Oliver opened the container and dug in.

“If you think it will make you happy, do it. If not, I’m behind you all the way in whatever you choose to do.” Felicity smiled at him.

“I know you are. I have to figure things out but in the mean time, I’ll do it.” Oliver shrugged. “I may find that I like it.”

Felicity handed him a bottle of water. “I hope you do. I have the feeling that your mom is trying to get me more involved too. We are the next generation of the Queen family.”

Oliver chuckled. “Me and you as the next Robert and Moira Queen? That’s …”

“Unbelievable?” Felicity asked.

“I was going to say ridiculous but let’s go with unbelievable.” Oliver opened his water and took a drink.

Felicity looked around the office. “We could do it. We would have to make some changes. There needs to be more research and development and less traditional industry. We would have to be more future oriented.”

“I think Mom picked the wrong one of us to give this office to.” Oliver smiled.       

“You are Robert Queen’s son. You can do this.” Felicity stroked his cheek.

“I can as long as you are beside me.” Oliver leaned over and kissed her.

Moira overheard the last part of the conversation. She smiled knowing that Oliver had found a better wife for himself than Moira could have ever found for him. 


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Felicity dropped Anna off at school and drove to the Queen Mansion. She pulled up to the house. She got out and walked to the door. It opened before she could knock.

Oliver stood in the doorway, grinning at her. “Hi Felicity. Come in everybody is waiting.”

“I'm not late, am I?” Felicity asked as she patted his chest and walked inside. 

“They're used to me being late. Don't worry about it.” Oliver took her hand. “Did you bring everything?”

“Yeah.” Felicity patted the tote bag she was carrying. I have all the documents the lawyer wanted and the things you wanted me to bring.

“They're waiting for us in the study.” Oliver dropped her hand and put his arm around her waist. “Let's get this over with.”

“You sound really enthusiastic.” Felicity leaned against his side.

“I hate lawyer things.” Oliver smiled. He gave her a squeeze.

“Too many times in a court room?” Felicity poked him in the ribs.

“Something like that.” Oliver kissed her cheek.

Thea came down the stairs. “Hey. I can't believe she lets you kiss her. Tell him he needs to shave, Felicity.”

“I think he looks really hot like this.” Felicity rubbed Oliver's cheek. “He says it’s a beard.”

Thea laughed and headed to the study. “Nope! That's not a beard, Ollie. Not even close.”

Felicity snorted. “She's cute.”

Oliver scoffed. “She's a pain in the ....”

“Oliver!” Felicity laughed. “We better go in. Thea has probably told them I'm here.”

Oliver walked her into the study. “Here we are.”

Felicity looked around the room at Moira, Walter, Thea, and a man she didn't know. “Hi!”

“Felicity, this is Ned Foster. He's the family attorney.” Moira motioned to the man Felicity didn't know.

Ned smiled. “Do you have the documents that I asked you to bring, Mrs. Queen?”

Felicity looked around. “Oh! That's me. I'm Mrs. Queen.”

“Yes Felicity.” Oliver rubbed her back. “You're the ‘Mrs. Queen’ he's speaking too.”

“Okay.” Felicity reached into her bag. She pulled a large manila envelope out of her bag and handed it to the lawyer. “I had official copies overnighted to me.”

Ned took the envelope and took the documents out and put them on the desk. “Let's see. Marriage certificate. Birth certificate. This must be the paternity test. Yes it is.”

Moira looked at the birth certificate. “Anna Olivia Queen. This isn't from Nevada?”

“No. The fake one is from Nevada.” Felicity explained. “I had her in Massachusetts. I went into labor after my last final of the semester. It was Professor Danvers’ class. He hired me as a TA a few weeks later. Anna calls him Uncle Paul and his wife, Aunt Maureen.”

“Is that the older couple in the photo with Anna on the hall table?” Oliver asked.

“Yes. We Skype with them every couple of months.” Felicity nodded. “They send her presents on her birthday and Hanukkah too.”

“It looks like everything is in order.” Ned pulled some documents out of a briefcase. “The first one is to put Anna on the trust. I need Oliver and Felicity to sign this one. The next one is for Oliver to sign to put Felicity on the trust as her husband. The last one is for Felicity only.”

“What's that one for?” Oliver asked. He signed the first two and passed the pen to Felicity.

“It’s to release the Queen family from any financial obligations in the event of divorce.” Ned said.

Oliver picked it up before Felicity could sign it. “This one?”

“Yes.” Ned nodded.

Oliver tore it up. “Felicity is part of this family and she deserves to be supported if we split. I won’t have her scraping by ever again.”

“Oliver.” Felicity put her hand on her arm. “I should have signed that.”

“There's no need for it.” Moira intervened. “Felicity has never asked for anything for herself.”

“Thanks Mom.” Oliver hugged Moira. “Before we go eat, there are a couple of things we still need to do.”

“Oh right!” Felicity reached in her bag and pulled out a ring box.

Oliver took the box and opened it. Inside were their wedding rings. Felicity held out her hand and Oliver slid her wedding ring on her hand. Felicity took his ring and worked it up his finger.

“You broke your hand?” Felicity looked up at Oliver.

“Yeah. A couple of times.” Oliver wrinkled his nose.

Felicity took a breath. She finally got it on. “That's not coming off again without a hacksaw.”

Oliver chuckled and dug in his pocket. He pulled out another ring box. “One more because I missed our anniversary five times.”

Felicity gasped as Oliver slid the platinum and diamond eternity band on her finger. “It’s beautiful.”

Oliver leaned down and kissed Felicity. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Best husband ever!” Felicity said as he pulled her closer.

“Um… Can you too stop being cute so we can have brunch? I’m starving.” Thea glared at them both.

“One more thing, Speedy, and then we can go eat. Felicity did you bring your bracelet?” Oliver asked.

“Yes but I don’t know why you wanted me too.” Felicity pulled a small pouch out of her bag. “I didn’t add the baby bootie that Mom gave me yet. It’s in there too.”

Oliver pulled out two beads in tiny plastic bags from his pocket and held them up for her to see. “We can add it when we add these.”

“An island and a house?” Felicity smiled. “Oh! Not a house. It means home, right?”

“Right.” Oliver nodded. He took the bracelet out of the pouch and unclasped it. He added the island bead then the baby bootie bead and the little house to the bracelet. “Here. Let me put it on you.”

Felicity held out her hand and grinned as Oliver clasped the bracelet on her wrist. “We’re running out of space.”

“We’re just going to have to get another empty one to add to it when this one is full.” Oliver looked at the bracelet on her wrist while he held her hand. “Do you remember the story?”

“Uh huh.” Felicity smiled. She pointed to each bead as she spoke. “In Las Vegas, Oliver fell in love with Felicity. He married her in a chapel surrounded by roses and made her his queen and they spent two weeks in Paris.”

“Oliver got lost on an island. Felicity had Anna. They found each other again and made a home they could share forever.” Oliver added.

“Perfect!” Felicity leaned against him. “I don’t understand. What beads do we still need to add? The story sounds complete.”

“More baby booties.” Oliver kissed her cheek.

“Can we eat now?” Thea pouted.

“Yes Speedy. We can eat now.” Oliver sighed. He looked at Felicity. “I told you she was a …”

“Oliver!” Felicity interrupted him.

“Now that all that is finished, welcome to the family officially, Felicity.” Moira held out her arms to hug her.

Felicity stepped over and hugged Moira. “I’m so glad to be official.”

Thea stepped over and hugged felicity. “Now I have someone to pick on Ollie with.”

Felicity laughed.

“Speedy!” Oliver rolled his eyes.  

“As someone who has married into this family, I can say you could not have done better.” Walter held out his hand to shake hers. “I have a belated wedding gift for the both of you. I have put you on a personal sabbatical from Queen Consolidated. I thought you might want to take some time to settle into your new circumstances.”

“Thank you Mr. Steel.” Felicity shook his hand.

“Walter. We are family, Felicity. Call me ‘Walter’.

“Okay Walter.” Felicity smiled.

“I will send you information and a credit card as soon as I get it. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Queen.” Ned Foster held out his hand and shook Felicity’s. “I have another appointment. I better get going.”

“Thank you Ned, for everything.” Moira smiled at the lawyer as he packed up and left. “Now we can go have a lovely brunch.”

Moira and Walter led the way into the breakfast room. The table was set for six.

“Are we missing someone?” Felicity asked as Oliver helped her with her chair.

“Yes. Where is Tommy?” Moira asked Oliver.

“I told him to be here by nine.” Oliver checked his watch. “It’s just nine now.”

There was a knock on the door and Tommy was heard in the foyer. A few minutes later, he came rushing in to the breakfast room.

“Sorry I’m late.” Tommy sat down next to Thea and looked across the table. “Honey? You’re a blonde.”

“You told him to say that, didn’t you?” Felicity pointed at Oliver.

Oliver shook his head. “It’s kinda obvious.”

“Oliver wants me to change it back.” Felicity explained. “I like being a blonde. My mom is a blonde.”

“Does she dye hers too?” Oliver said under his breath just loud enough for Felicity to hear. He unfolded his napkin and put it in his lap.

No. Hers is natural.” Felicity glared at him.                 

Tommy looked around. “Where’s the munchkin?”

“She’s at school.” Oliver said. “Her name is Anna Olivia. Why are you so interested in her?”

“I just wanted to see if she is smart like her mother or a smartass like her father.” Tommy winked at Felicity. “I brought a present for her. It’s just a teddy bear.”

“She’ll like that and thanks for thinking of her.” Oliver smiled.

“You know, she will know who you are. You are in our wedding photos. She calls you ‘Uncle Tommy’. She thought you were Ginger’s husband for a while.” Felicity chuckled.

“Ginger! What’s going on with Ginger?” Tommy asked. “I haven’t thought about her in years.”

“She’s moving to Starling City.” Oliver grinned. He looked at tommy. “She and her son, Tommy.”

Tommy stared at Oliver for a moment. “He isn’t mine. I swear. I never … with Ginger. We just drank and gambled.”

“Uh huh.” Oliver took a sip of his orange juice.

“Oliver, don’t tease him.” Felicity nudged his foot with hers under the table. She named the baby ‘Tommy’ after you but he’s not even a year old yet. He’s her soon to be ex-husband’s son.”

“Oh thank God.” Tommy took a drink of juice. “Hey. If your name isn’t Honey then hers isn’t Ginger, right?”

“It’s a nickname but we have always called her Ginger. Ginger and I grew up together. Our moms are best friends.” Felicity said. “They grew up together too.”

“Kinda like Tommy and Oliver.” Thea waved a slice of toast.

Yeah. Just like that.” Felicity nodded. “I call Ginger’s mom ‘Aunt Louise’. She calls my mom ‘Aunt Donna’. Tommy and Anna will be like cousins.”

“This family keeps getting bigger and bigger.” Moira smiled. “Any plans on when I will be a grandmother again?”

“Mom!” Oliver blushed slightly.

Felicity laughed. “Oliver says we’re behind so it will probably be soon. We just haven’t had the chance to work on it yet.”

“Moira, maybe you shouldn’t pressure them.” Walter said gently.

“I wanted to know.” Moira shrugged. “And now I do.”

Oliver and Felicity looked at each other and smiled.

For the rest of the meal, they chatted about this and that. When it was over, Tommy gave the ladies a kiss on the cheek and left.

-

After Tommy left, Oliver pulled Felicity to the side. “Come upstairs and help me pack.”

“Okay.” Felicity took his hand and they walked upstairs to Oliver’s room. When they got there Oliver surprised her by locking the door.

“Um. You look packed to me.” Felicity pointed at his suitcases by the door. “What’s up?”

“I thought we should start working on that baby that we promised Mom.” Oliver stepped closer to her.

“Here?” Felicity squeaked.

“Yes. Here.” Oliver pulled her close to him and kissed her neck. “I locked the door.” 

“I saw that.” Felicity giggled when he nipped her ear. “Oliver, they’re going to notice that we’re gone.”

“I doubt it.” Oliver kissed her and started to unbutton her blouse. “Felicity … please.”

“You know that I can’t say ‘no’ to you.” Felicity started to unzip his jeans. “We are going to have to be really quiet.”

“Um hum.” Oliver kissed her neck and worked his way down to her collarbone.

Felicity pulled her blouse the rest of the way off and pulled at Oliver’s shirt. Oliver backed up just enough to pull his shirt over his head. He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to the bed. He lowered them both carefully as he kissed her slowly.

Felicity shifted underneath him and pushed down his jeans and boxers. She moaned softly as he unfastened her bra and freed her breasts. She gasped when he started to suck on her breast.

Oliver slipped his hand into the waistband her slacks. He found the zipper on the side and undid it. He switched to the other breast then pulled her slacks and panties off all at once. He slowly kissed his way down to her belly button before looking up at her with desire filled eyes.

Felicity nodded and reached out for him.

He pushed her thighs higher and positioned himself between them.

Felicity scraped her nails over his head as she kissed him slipping her tongue into his mouth.

Oliver moaned and pushed inside her slowly. He waited for Felicity to move against him to start thrusting.

“You feel so good.” Felicity whispered in his ear.

Oliver chuckled and started to move slow and deep inside her core. Felicity gripped his shoulders and moved against him. Her hips met each one of his thrusts as he continued.

Felicity’s hands explored his chest and back as he made love to her. She would pull him close for a kiss here and there.

Oliver could feel her body nearing a climax. He kept his pace to make it last longer. He knew she was close when she put her head down on his shoulder to muffle her moan. Suddenly her body tensed and she cried out.

Oliver kept moving until he couldn’t hold on to his release any longer. He leaned his forehead on her collarbone as he caught his breath.

“Oh! Wow!” Felicity stroked his shoulders and arms. “You are so good at that.”

Oliver looked up and grinned. He glanced down and then back at her again.

“Love you.” Felicity put her hands on his cheeks. “You know that right?”

“Yeah. I love you too.” Oliver kissed her. He pulled back and looked at her with love in his eyes.

“Oliver, I hope I don’t get pregnant too fast. This is so much fun.” Felicity rubbed his shoulders. “But if we aren’t pregnant in six months, we should both go get checked out.”

“Both of us?” Oliver lay on his back next to her.

“There’s no way of knowing what you were exposed to on that island and Russia is still sort of glow-y. That’s not even taking into consideration all that your body has gone through over the last five years.” Felicity looked up at him.

“You have a point.” Oliver was suddenly serious. “We may not get to have another child because of me.”

Felicity pushed him over on his back. “We don’t know that yet. Until then, we will keep trying to make a baby.” She kissed his neck. “I just mentioned it so you won’t get disappointed if we don’t conceive as quickly as we did before.”

“Quickly?” Oliver scowled.

“Anna was conceived the first few days of our honeymoon. That was what the first ultrasound showed.” Felicity ran her hand up his arm and over his chest.

“What if you’re pregnant right now? This isn’t the first time we’ve had sex since I’ve been back.” Oliver rubbed her back. 

“I know. We won’t know for a few weeks at least.” Felicity told him.

Oliver cuddled her close to him. “I just glad you’re going to give me another chance to be your husband and Anna’s dad.”

“You are the one who made the decision that this was what you wanted. I just gave you the option.” Felicity ran her hand over his abs. “I’m a lucky woman. I get a second chance with the man I love when I had been mourning him for years.”

“I’m so sorry.” Oliver kissed the top of her head. “I wish I had known that you needed me. I would have come back sooner.”

“What’s done is done. We can’t have regrets we can only have hope and faith in us and our family.” Felicity yawned. “I think I need a nap.”  

Oliver stroked her hair. “Go ahead and sleep I’ll wake you up before you have to pick up Anna.”

Felicity snuggled closer and closed her eyes. “Thanks Oliver.     

Soon they were both sound asleep.

-

There was a loud knocking at the door of Oliver’s room. Oliver raised his head up and looked down at Felicity lying on his chest.

“Oliver! Is Felicity in there with you?” Moira called through the door.

“Yeah Mom.” Oliver answered.  

Felicity opened her eyes Oliver spoke.

“Mom is looking for you.” Oliver whispered.

“Moira? Is there something wrong?” Felicity sat up in bed. 

“Felicity, it’s almost five o’clock. I thought you should know so that you aren’t late picking up Anna.” Moira said through the door 

“Thank you. I’ll be right down.” Felicity looked at Oliver.

They could hear footsteps walking away from the door.

“I must have fallen asleep too.” Oliver rubbed his face.

“I can’t believe that we got caught.” Felicity got out of bed and started to collect her clothes. “This is so embarrassing.”

“Felicity, we’re married. We are supposed to have sex.” Oliver laughed.

“Not in the middle of the day in your mom’s house.” Felicity headed for the bathroom. “How am I supposed to look her in the face? This is all your fault. You and your dirty thinky thoughts.”

Oliver laughed when Felicity slammed the bathroom door. He got up and got dressed.

Felicity came out of the bathroom and glared at him.

“Oh come on, Felicity. We’re married.” Oliver grinned.

“I know.” Felicity picked up her shoes and put them on. She sighed and gave him a kiss before she left him sitting on the bed.

Felicity walked down the stairs and came face to face with Moira. “Um. Thanks for letting me know it was getting late.”

Moira smiled. “You missed a button.”

“Wow! This is so embarrassing.” Felicity looked down and fixed the button.

“Felicity, you and Oliver are married.” Moira smiled and chuckled. “Besides, I want more grandchildren.”

“Right.” Felicity blushed. She picked up her tote bag and the gift bag with the teddy bear inside from the table in the foyer. “I better go. I don’t want to be late.”

“Give Anna a kiss for me.” Moira said as she walked across the foyer to the living room.

“Sure.” Felicity went out to get in her car to pick up Anna.

When Felicity got to the school, Grace was just pulling in.

“Where have you been all day?” Grace asked.

“I had some family business to take care of.” Felicity said.

“Is Anna still coming this weekend or are you still mad at me?” Grace asked.

“Yes. She’s coming.” Felicity looked at Grace. “Grace, I know what you said came from a good place but you need to know something. Oliver and I are together and that’s not going to change. You need to accept that.”

“Is Mrs. Queen behind this?” Grace asked. “It would be the perfect solution. She’s attached to Anna and if you and Oliver got married that would make her Anna’s grandmother.”

Felicity hesitated and then decided to come clean to Grace. “Moira Queen is already her grandmother.”

“How? Your husband is dead and Oliver is her only son.” Grace was confused.

“Oliver is … my dead husband.” Felicity told her. “Technically he was actually missing and presumed dead. We were signing the papers today to put Anna’s name on the family trust.”

“That took all day?” Grace asked.

Felicity shrugged. “Oliver and I haven’t spent a lot of time together so we took advantage of my time off. I’m officially on personal leave starting today.”

“Must be nice to just take off when you want to.” Grace said as she walked toward the school.

“Yes it is. I haven’t ever been able to just take time for myself and Anna.” Felicity said as she fell in step with Grace. “I have had to work for as long as I can remember. I think I deserve a little bit of a break.”

“I suppose so. Why didn’t anyone know about this?” Grace asked.

“I didn’t think I had a right to make a claim. He was dead and I couldn’t prove Anna was his. But we had a paternity test done as soon as we could and now I can stop hiding who we are.” Felicity said. “For now, I want you to keep this to yourself until the official announcement is made. I don’t want this to get around at work just yet.”

Grace looked at Felicity. “I won’t say anything.”

The teacher on duty waved to them and called out to Katie and Anna to get ready.

“Thanks. Anna doesn’t know Oliver’s home yet. I haven’t let him see her yet.” Felicity said. “We had to get things settled first.”

“Are they settled now?” Grace asked.

“Almost. He’ll get to see her on Sunday when I bring her home. He’s moving in with us.” Felicity said.

“Are you changing Anna’s name?” Grace asked.

“I don’t have to change Anna’s name because her legal name is Anna Olivia Queen. I’ve just been using fake papers with Anna Smoak on them for the past few years.” Felicity admitted.

“Wow.” Grace shook her head. “You really were hiding. Like witness protection level hiding.”

“I thought I had to.” Felicity shrugged.  

The girls ran up and Felicity and Grace took them to their separate cars to go home.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

A black town car pulled in directly behind Felicity when she came back from dropping off Anna at school the next morning. She smiled when she saw Rob behind the wheel.

She got out and stood by her car until Oliver got out. She waved to him. “No motorcycle?”

“I thought it would be easier to bring my stuff over in the car. Rob was all too willing to help.” Oliver pulled a duffle bag out of the back seat and slung it over his shoulder. “I didn’t bring much. Mom still wants us to move into the house.”

“I know. She sent me an email asking me if she should paint Anna’s room pink or yellow. I said she should go with yellow. Anna doesn’t really like pink.” Felicity chuckled.

“Neither did Thea. It was red or nothing. Mom drew the line at painting the walls of her room red.” Oliver turned to Rob who was taking a suitcase from the trunk. “Just put that on the porch, Rob. I’ll get the other stuff.”

Oliver put a garment bag over his other shoulder and took a wooden case from the trunk. He walked up to Felicity. “This is it. Nervous?” 

“No. Not really. I sort of imagined this day more than a few times.” Felicity rubbed his arm. “Bye Rob.”

Oliver and Felicity watched as Rob carried the suitcase to the porch. He came back and closed the trunk. Felicity gave him a little wave when he got in the car and took off.

“Alone at last.” Oliver sighed. “What ever should we do?”

“You are going to unpack and I am going to make a grocery list.” Felicity started walking to the front door. She unlocked the door and pulled the suitcase inside with her.

Oliver grinned and followed her inside.

“Take your things up to our room. I’ve made space in the closet and the bottom two drawers of the chest are yours.” Felicity said over her shoulder as she kept walking towards the kitchen. “There’s some room under the sink in the bathroom for your shaving kit, if you have one.”

Oliver picked up the suitcase by the handle and carried it upstairs. He went to their room and put the suitcase and duffle bag on the bed. He slid his island gear under the bed.

Ten minutes later, Felicity came up and stood in the doorway. “I have a key for you. What was in that wooden thing?”

“That’s my island gear.” Oliver said as he took some things out of the duffle and put them in one of the drawers. “My bow and some arrows and a few other things I brought back with me. It’s locked so you don’t have to worry about Anna getting into it.”

“Where did you put it?” Felicity looked around.

“It’s under the bed. I just didn’t want to leave it at the house.” Oliver said. “I need to find a place to work out and practice. Tommy and I drove by the closed down foundry. I was thinking of using that as a work out spot. I can do target practice in there too without attracting attention.”

“Are you any good?” Felicity grinned at him.

“I never miss. It was my weapon of choice. I’ve used a gun but I have always preferred my bow.” Oliver looked up. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to …”

“It’s okay. That was your life for five years. It’s good that you talk to me about it.” Felicity came in and sat on the bed. “But you have to remember not to say anything to anyone else about what you’ve done. I don’t want anyone to take you from us again.”

“I know. I’ll be careful.” Oliver stopped unpacking and came over to stand in front of her. “I won’t let you down again.”

“Oliver, you didn’t let me down.” Felicity put her hands on his chest. “It was an accident and things just went from there. You’re home now and you’re safe. I just want you to stay that way.”

Oliver leaned over and kissed her softly. “I just wish things had happened differently.”

“Hey! No regrets. This is our fresh start. Now finish unpacking so we can go grocery shopping.” Felicity paused. “Do you drink milk? I need to know if I should get more than I usually do.”

“Yeah. Lots of fruit too.” Oliver nodded. “Sometimes it’s the only thing that doesn’t make me feel sick after I eat it.”

Felicity wrinkled her nose. “Did my pot roast make you sick?”

“No but I have eaten some things recently that didn’t sit well on my stomach.” Oliver took a breath. “I guess I’m still getting used to eating real food again.”

“You didn’t eat real food in Hong Kong or Russia?” felicity asked.

“I didn’t eat much of anything. I was always so stressed out.” Oliver bowed his head. “I came home and I wanted to eat my favorite things and they make me sick.”

“Your body has been through a lot and things are bound to be messed up for a while. Felicity tried to get a look at his face. “Did you tell the doctor when they checked you out after you got to Starling City?”

“I didn’t know then. I guess I should go get it checked out.” Oliver caressed her cheek. “Don’t worry. I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“Can I help?” Felicity looked at the clothes on the bed and still in the suitcase.

“I’m almost done. I just have these to put in the drawers.” Oliver picked up another pile of clothes and put them in the bottom drawer.

“Do you need more room? I could maybe give you half of another drawer.” Felicity wrinkled her nose. “Maybe a third?”

“I can make it fit.” Oliver emptied out the suitcase, closed it and put it under the bed. He picked up the clothes and put them in the drawer. “I just have shoes left in the duffle and my toiletries.”

“Hmm. Man smelling stuff.” Felicity giggled. “I love the way you smell.”

Oliver laughed. He came over and gave her a quick kiss. He picked up the duffle and took it to the closet. After he took his boots and dress shoes out, he carried it to the bathroom.

Felicity hopped off the bed and followed him. “Oliver, when you’re done come to the kitchen. We can go through the shopping list before we go.”

“Okay. I’ll be right down.” Oliver took some things out of his duffle and sat them on the sink. “Felicity, can we get some ice cream?”

“Mint chip or cherry vanilla?” Felicity stood as the top of the stairs.

Oliver poked his head out of the bathroom. “Both of them?”

“I better make room in the freezer.” Felicity sighed.

“Felicity, is Anna’s favorite cherry vanilla?” Oliver asked.

“Yeah. I don’t know where that comes from.” Felicity shrugged. “She just started to ask for cherry vanilla. I think she may have had it at someone’s birthday party or something.”

After going through the grocery list and adding more to it that Felicity thought was really necessary, they headed out to do the shopping. Felicity drove to the grocery store that she usually used in the Glades. It was a small chain store with decent prices and a good selection.

Felicity was surprised that Oliver was not completely out of his element but realized he had probably had to go grocery shopping while he was gone. Oliver paid for the groceries before Felicity could get her wallet out. She glared at him but he just smiled impishly back. They went home and carried the bags inside and she showed him where everything went.

They were putting the last of the groceries away in the cupboard when Felicity looked at her watch.

“I have to go get Anna. Could you go get her sleeping bag and duffle bag on her bed for me? I’ll put these last few things away.” Felicity looked in the last bag on the table. 

“Sure.” Oliver handed her the box of pasta he was holding and hurried up stairs to get Anna’s things.

Felicity met him at the bottom of the stairs and took the purple sleeping bag and multicolored duffle bag from him. “Thanks.”

Why is there a horse’s head poking out of that? Oliver asked as he handed the bags over.

“That’s Fred. It was the first present your mom gave her. She sleeps with him. I should put it away but I don’t have the heart to do it. Maybe, now that your home she might let me.” She rubbed its head fondly.

“Okay but why is its head sticking out of the bag?” Oliver was still curious.

“So he can breathe.” Felicity giggled.

Oliver nodded and frowned. “I’m having flashbacks of Thea and her stuffed giraffe. His name was Jimmy.”

“That just proves that Anna is a normal little girl.” Felicity put the strap of the duffle bag over her shoulder and gave him a kiss on the cheek and picked up her keys. “Be back in a few. The remote to the TV is on the coffee table.”

“I’ll be waiting.” Oliver smiled.

Felicity headed out to the car and drove to the school.

Grace was pulling in as Felicity was getting out of the car. “Hey! How’s your time off, Mrs. Queen?”

“I’ve been busy all day. Oliver moved in today and we went grocery shopping. I don’t think I have ever had that much food in the house at one time.” Felicity laughed.

“You can afford it.” Grace said. “Oh I’m going to need about forty for the aquarium and the science center.”

“Okay.” Felicity grabbed her purse off the car seat. She opened her wallet. “All I have is a fifty. Oliver must not believe in putting small bills in my wallet.”

“That’s how much you have after the grocery store?” Grace had wide eyes as she looked at all the cash in Felicity’s wallet.

“No. He paid for the groceries. He had his card out before I could get to my wallet. I think he planned on paying the whole time.” Felicity handed her the fifty. “I have Anna’s stuff. Do you want to do that now before we get the girls?”

“Yeah. Here’s Melinda.” Grace nodded to a green sedan with a dent in the back door.

“Wow! What happened to her car?” Felicity pulled Anna’s things out of the back seat. 

“Baseball bat. Guess who’s girlfriend found out her boyfriend was a married man.” Grace opened the back of the minivan and took the sleeping bag and duffle bag. “Hi Fred. Here she comes. Act like you don’t know.”

“Got it.” Felicity folded her arms in front of her as Melinda approached.

“Here’s Melody’s things.” Melinda said as she carried a pink sleeping bag and a pink duffle bag. She looked at Felicity. “I guess she told you about my husband cheating on me. I decided to go to my mom’s instead of the conference with him. He can take that skank he’s been sleeping with.”

“Are you going to throw him out?” Felicity asked. “If my husband did that I would throw him out.”

“Really?” Grace looked at Felicity and smirked.

“Yes really.” Felicity said. “That’s something I would never put up with. I wouldn’t be setting a good example for Anna if I did.”

“Even if you still loved him?” Melinda asked.

“It’s trust more than love. If I can’t trust him then there is no basis for a relationship even with love.” Felicity said.

Melinda nodded. She put Melody’s things into the back of the minivan. “You’re right.”    

“That doesn’t mean he can’t work to win back my trust but I would never make it easy for him.” Felicity looked at Grace. “Talk to him and see if he wants to work things out before you give up on him for good.”

“Let’s go get the girls.” Grace they are probably waiting for us.

Melinda walked ahead of them to the front of the school.

“Were you serious about what you said?” Grace asked quietly

“Yes and he was warned before I told him I would take him back.” Felicity answered back. “He knows cheating is a deal breaker.”

“Wow.” Grace said under her breath.

Grace was right the girls were ready and waiting for them as soon as they got to the school. They came running out as soon as they saw their mothers.

When the girls got back to the minivan, Felicity gave Anna a kiss. “Be good and I will come get you on Sunday.”

“I will. I will remember to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and take my turn.” Anna ticked off on her fingers. “Oh and I will go to bed when Grace says to.”

Felicity kissed Anna on the forehead. “Have fun, Baby.”

“Bye Mommy.” Anna climbed into the minivan and Grace buckled her in.

“Enjoy your weekend you two.” Grace smiled.

“I’ll owe you one.” Melinda said.

“It’s okay. See you Sunday.” Grace got behind the wheel to start the car and turn on some kiddy music. She waved before she pulled out.

“I better get on the road my mom lives three hours away.” Melinda said. She started to walk to her car.

“See you Sunday.” Felicity got in her car.

When Felicity got home, she found Oliver sitting on the sofa watching a sports channel. He had his bare feet propped up on the coffee table. He looked up when she came in the room

“Hey.” Felicity sat next to him and leaned against his shoulder.

“You have sports channels on your cable?” Oliver pulled her close. “I wasn’t expecting that. Did you add them for me?”

“They were a part of the package when I got to get the kiddy channels. Anna doesn’t watch that much TV but I will let her watch those when she does.”

“I have so much to learn. You’ve had years with her and I’m going to have to catch up really quick.” Oliver sighed.

“You’re going to do fine. What do you want for dinner? I should start something soon.” Felicity looked at her watch.

“I’m cooking for you tonight.” Oliver grinned. “And I do know how to cook. Go take a bubble bath or something and I will make you something to eat.”

“We didn’t buy any lizard at the store and I don’t have a spit.” Felicity poked him in the ribs.

“I can cook more than that.” Oliver laughed. “You’ll see.”

Felicity kissed him on the cheek. “I would like a bubble bath.” She bounced up from the sofa and walked towards the stairs. “Oliver, you have really big feet now get them off my coffee table.”

Oliver took his feet off the coffee table. “Sorry!”

Felicity went upstairs and Oliver got up and headed for the kitchen.

When Felicity came down stairs from her bubble bath, she was surprised to see the table set with her best dishes and wine poured. Oliver had even cleaned up after himself.

Oliver smiled when he saw the amazement on her face. “Sit down and I will serve you.”

“Okay.” Felicity sat at the table as Oliver held her chair.

Oliver brought her a salad and a plate with perfectly done beef and a rice dish.

“Take a bite and tell me what you think.” Oliver brought his food over and sat down.

Felicity took a bite of the rice. “Mmmm. That is so good. _You_ made that?”

Oliver smiled. “It’s a Japanese recipe. It’s not that complicated.”

“You are cooking more often.” Felicity took a second bite. “Mmmm.”

Oliver smiled. “Just wait until I make you something I learned in Russia.”

“My mom said that my grandmother made the best chicken paprika on the planet. Can you make that?” Felicity cut a bite of the beef. “Mom tries but it never tastes like I remember Bubbe’s did.”

“I know that one.” Oliver laughed. “I’ll give it a try whenever you want.”

“Mmmm. The beef is so good too.” Felicity sighed. “I love you so much right now.”

Oliver chuckled. “I bet you do.”  

-

After Oliver cleared the table, Felicity took him by the hand and led him up the bedroom. She gave him a kiss and locked the door.

Oliver smiled. “Is this desert?”

“Oh yeah.” Felicity pushed his shirt up and ran her hands over his chest and around to his back.

“We should have brought the chocolate sauce.” Oliver whispered in her ear.

Felicity pulled back and looked at him. “Those are new sheets, Mister! We are not putting chocolate stains on the new sheets.”

“Yes dear.” Oliver chuckled.

“Wow! We sounded really married just then.” Felicity laughed.

Oliver pulled her closer. “We are really married.”

“Um hum.” Felicity agreed as she snuggled against his chest.

Oliver put his hands on her ass and picked her up. He waited for her to wrap her legs around him before he carried her to the bed. He gently laid her down in the middle of the bed. He pulled back and pulled his shirt off.

Felicity rubbed her hands on his chest then worked at the zipper of his jeans.

Oliver nuzzled her neck and put his weight on his elbows.

Felicity got his jeans open and she pushed them and his boxers down.

Oliver kicked them to the floor and sat back. He pulled her into a sitting position to get her top off. He leaned forward and peppered her breasts with light kisses.

Felicity pulled him back with her and helped him get her yoga pants and panties off. Felicity kissed him, tasting his tongue and making him moan.

Oliver was impatient as he settled between her thighs. Oliver pulled back breathless and entered her quickly.

They kept a slow pace as they made love. The pleasure built until Felicity cried out as she climaxed. Oliver pushed deeper into her core to release.

They touched foreheads as they caught their breath.

“I’m so glad you’re home.” Felicity whispered.

“I’m just glad you still love me.” Oliver said as he rolled over beside her. He pulled her close and kissed her on top of the head as she snuggled against him.

“I’ll always love you. Oliver.” Felicity said into his chest. She rubbed his abs. “Go to sleep.”

“Yeah. I am kinda tired.” Oliver held her tighter. “I love you too, Felicity.”

-

The next morning, Oliver woke her up with coffee and croissants.

Felicity opened her eyes and smiled up at him. “Didn’t we do this once years ago?”

“Do what?” Oliver handed her coffee to her.

“You brought me coffee and croissants in bed the morning after we were married.” Felicity reminded him.

Oliver chuckled. “I did, didn’t I? This is like a restart for us so I think it’s appropriate that I do the same thing I did that morning.”

Felicity sipped her coffee. “I thought so too.”

“So what are we going to do today?” Oliver asked as he sat back down on the bed.

“I was thinking we could do some house shopping.” Felicity looked at the selection on the plate.

“I was hoping to stay here with you all day.” Oliver frowned. “I want to keep you to myself.”

“We will.” Felicity smiled up at him. “We can shop on line. There’re some real estate sites I found. I bookmarked them on my tablet.”

“We can house hunt on line? I was gone a lot longer than I thought.” Oliver kissed her shoulder. “It has to have a lot of bedrooms and a master suite for us. I don’t really want to share a bathroom with the kids.”

“I know. Anna has bath toys in the basket on the tub. She makes a mess in the tub.” Felicity chuckled.

“Where is your tablet?” Oliver looked around the room. “I can’t wait to get started.”

“It’s on the coffee table.” Felicity pulled on his hand. “Don’t go get it yet.  Let’s just enjoy our coffee first.”

“Okay. But I think we should look for a house with at least five bedrooms.” Oliver said.

“They will have to double up and the fifth room will be a guest room.” Felicity nodded. “Mom will insist that we keep a room for her to visit.”

“I wonder if your mom will like me.” Oliver looked into his coffee cup. “I haven’t done anything but cause you heartache since I married you.”

“That’s not true. I loved every minute we had together back then and you gave me Anna. Mom loves Anna.” Felicity broke a piece off one of the croissants. “I just worry about her flirting with you. You know, because you’re really hot.”

“She wouldn’t.” Oliver laughed then saw the serious look on Felicity’s face. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope.” Felicity shook her head and took another sip of coffee. “She’ll hug you a lot and bat her fake eyelashes at you. Mom isn’t subtle.”

Oliver scowled. “You can’t leave me alone with her. Promise me.”

Felicity sighed. “Okay. I’ll protect you. You’re a big chicken.”

Oliver ducked his head and raised his eyebrow at her. “Cluck. Cluck.”

Oliver took the cups and plate back to the kitchen when they were done and brought her tablet to her.

Felicity opened the tablet to one of the sites and started to put in the search parameters. 

They snuggled under the covers and looked at houses on line for the rest of the day.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

The next morning as they got dressed, Felicity could feel how nervous Oliver was about meeting Anna for the first time. She was nervous too but she wasn’t about to tell him that.

They went down to have coffee and finish off the croissants. Oliver played with his food and stared into his coffee.

“I’ll be right back.” Felicity kissed him on the cheek and put her cup in the sink. “Don’t be nervous. She will know you as soon as she sees you.”

“I have changed a lot since those photos were taken.” Oliver said quietly.   

“You haven’t changed that much, Oliver. She’ll see her daddy and it will be fine. I have to go but I will be back as quick as I can.” Felicity walked into the hall. She picked up her keys from the hall table.

“I’ll be right here.” Oliver followed her. He went into the living room and sat on the sofa. He turned on the TV and started to flip through the channels.

Felicity went over to kiss him on the cheek again and rubbed his shoulder before she headed out the door.

When Felicity got to Grace’s house, she was surprised to see Melinda’s car already there. She went to the front door and knocked.

“Felicity, save me.” Grace whispered as she opened the front door.

“I’m kinda in a hurry. Oliver is waiting for us.” Felicity said. “What’s up?”

“Mel is losing it. He had divorce papers delivered to her mom’s house.” Grace said quietly.

“She can’t still want him back after that.” Felicity followed Grace into the kitchen. She sat down at the table. “Hi Mel.”

“I suppose she told you she can’t keep a secret to save her life.” Melinda looked at Grace.

“Gee thanks, Mel.” Grace poured another cup of coffee and put it down in front of Felicity. “He can wait five minutes.”

“Who?” Melinda asked.

“I guess I can keep a secret.” Grace took the milk out of the fridge and sat it on the table. 

“I can’t stay long. I have things to deal with. Felicity glared at Grace. She looked at Mel. “My husband was found a few weeks ago.”

“I wondered why you weren’t at work. I guess you’ll finally have some closure with a body to bury.” Melinda took a sip of her coffee. “I wish my husband was dead.”

Felicity glanced at Grace. “No you don’t. It’s the worst thing I have ever had to face. Being eighteen and pregnant didn’t make it any easier. You don’t want that for Melody. I didn’t want it for Anna. Let him go and find out that he made the biggest mistake of his life. If he doesn’t realize that then you’re better off without him.”

Melinda nodded. “I’m signing the papers but I still need someone to make sure he doesn’t leave us with nothing.”

“Wait until my friend, Ginger comes to town. She’s a lawyer and she’s just gone through what you are going through now. She’ll help you out.” Felicity poured milk in her coffee. She saw Grace look at her questioningly. “He can wait a few minutes. I waited for over five years.”

“I don’t want to keep you from making arrangements for your husband’s funeral. You should go.” Mel reached out and patted Felicity’s hand.

“My husband isn’t dead. They found him alive.” Felicity said. “Mel, my husband is Oliver Queen.”

Melinda sat there with her mouth open for a moment. “No way!”

“He moved in on Friday and he’s waiting for me to bring Anna home.” Felicity sipped her coffee.

“How was the reunion?” Grace asked. She was relieved she didn’t have to keep the secret from Melinda anymore.

“Well… It was nice. We still love each other and we are committed to make it work for all three of us.” Felicity smiled. “He’s not the same boy that left on that boat. He’s quiet and serious now.”

“Anna has no idea he’s home?” Melinda asked. “How have you managed to keep it from her?”

“It wasn’t easy.” Felicity admitted. “I’ve almost told her a dozen times.”

“Mommy!” Anna poked her head into the kitchen. “Can we stay a little longer? I want to finish watching the movie.”

“No Baby. We have to go. Get your things together and meet me by the door.” Felicity told her daughter.

“She’s packed up. I thought you might want a quick getaway.” Grace shrugged. “Considering.”

Anna pouted. “Please Mommy.”

“What did I say?” Felicity gave her the ‘mom’ look.

“Okay.” Anna disappeared into the hallway.

Felicity took one last sip and got up. “Wish me luck.”

“If you want to stay …” Grace started to say.

Felicity shook her head. “I can do this.”

Felicity waved as she went to the front door. Anna was just pulling on her coat. Felicity picked up the sleeping bag and duffle bag. “Come on Baby. We have to get home.”

“Okay Mommy.” Anna followed her out to the car.

Felicity put her things on the seat and buckled Anna in. “I’m sorry you couldn’t stay this time. Maybe next time. Okay?”

“Okay.” Anna touched Felicity’s face. “I love you, Mommy.”

“I love you too, Baby.” Felicity got in the driver’s seat and pulled away from the curb. She drove in silence to the townhouse. 

Felicity stopped the car in the driveway. Her heart was racing. So many questions were racing around in her head.

What if Anna didn't recognize Oliver? What if she was afraid of him? Or she didn't want to go to him for a hug?

Felicity took a deep breath to push down her fears. She turned to look at Anna.

“What's wrong Mommy?” Anna asked.

“Nothing. I have a surprise for you. I don't want you to be scared because I'll be right beside you.” Felicity said. “Unbuckle your seat belt and I'll open the door.”

“Okay.” Anna frowned. “What kind of surprise?

“You’ll see.” Felicity got out and opened the back seat door on her side and grabbed Anna’s things. She went around to the other side of the car and opened the door for Anna. She helped her out and they walked to the front door.

Felicity saw the curtain move out of the corner of her eye. She wondered if that meant Oliver was as nervous as she was.

Felicity opened the door and put Anna’s things down by the steps. “We're here.”

Oliver came into the hallway and bit his lip nervously.

“Daddy?” Anna scrunched her nose in confusion.

“Yes.” Oliver nodded. “Yes Anna. It’s Daddy.”

Anna's eyes got wide and she looked at Felicity. “Mommy! It’s Daddy!”

“I know. He came home.” Felicity said.

Oliver knelt down and held out his arms. “Anna, can I have a hug?”

Anna nodded and ran into his arms. She threw her arms around his neck.

Oliver wrapped his arms around his little girl. “Hey my little queen. I'm so glad to see you.”

“Daddy, we missed you.” Anna said as Oliver stood up with her in his arms.

“I missed you and Mommy too.” Oliver looked at her face. “You're beautiful, just like Mommy.”

“I have eyes like you and we smile the same. See?” Anna smiled for him.

“I see. You have your Mommy's nose.” Oliver touched his finger to Anna’s nose.

“Daddy, where have you been?” Anna asked. “Why didn't you come home?”

“I had an accident and I got lost. It took a long time before I could find my way home. I came home as fast as I could.” Oliver sat down on the sofa in the living room. “Come here Mommy. I want to hug both of my beautiful queens.”

Felicity sat down on the opposite side that he was holding Anna. She snuggled against Oliver's shoulder as he held them both close.

“Mommy, is Daddy my surprise?” Anna asked.

Felicity nodded. “Yeah baby. Daddy is your surprise.”

“Daddy, are you going to live with us now?” Anna asked. She leaned her head on his shoulder and looked up at him.

“Yes I am.” Oliver smiled. “Is that okay?”

“Where you gonna sleep?” Anna rubbed his cheek.

Oliver blushed. “I'm going to sleep in Mommy's room with her.”

“Oh! Like Katie's Mommy and Daddy?” Anna asked.

“Yes. Just like that.” Felicity said. “Are you hungry? I should start something for dinner.”

“Order a pizza in a little while.” Oliver said. “I want to hold you both for a while longer.”

“Daddy, you like pizza?” Anna pulled on his ear.

“Uh huh. With mushrooms and sausage.” Oliver grinned.

“Mommy and I like sausage and green peppers on ours but mushrooms are okay too. I guess.”  Anna said. She patted Oliver on the chest. “You're big and strong. Katie's daddy is little and he's not very strong.”

“I'm sure Katie doesn't mind because she loves her daddy and he loves her.” Felicity said.

“Do you love us, Daddy?” Anna asked.

“I love you so much.” Oliver looked from one to the other. “I love you both more than anything or anyone I have ever loved in my life.”

“Is that a lot?” Anna looked up at him.

“That's more than a lot. That's more than .... I don't know … everything.” Oliver said as he pulled them both closer.

Felicity leaned against Oliver and pushed Anna's dark hair back from her face. This was something she had wanted ever since she found out the she was pregnant. It was a perfect moment.

Oliver’s phone vibrated in his shirt pocket.

“That tickles!” Anna giggled.

“It’s my phone.” Oliver looked at Felicity. “Do you mind I have my hands full?”

“Sure.” Felicity pulled it out and showed it to him. It was Moira. “Answer it or not?”

“We'd better or she will just keep calling.” Oliver sighed.

Felicity answered the call and put it on speaker.

“Hi Mom.” Oliver said. “Anna, say ‘hi’ to Grandma.”

“Bubbe?” Anna looked at Felicity.

“No not Bubbe. This is Daddy's Mommy. She's Grandma.”

“Oh.” Anna nodded. “Hi Grandma.”

“Hello Anna. So everything went well?” Moira asked.

“Yes Mom. We will be over on Tuesday for dinner.” Oliver said.

“We're having pizza. We're gonna have mushrooms. Daddy likes mushrooms.” Anna said.

“Maybe on half.” Felicity winked at Oliver.

“Half is fine.” Oliver gave Felicity a squeeze. “Mom, I'll call you later. I want to spend time with my beautiful girls.”

“Fine. I will speak to you and Felicity later. Goodnight Anna.”

“Goodnight Grandma.” Anna blew a kiss into the phone.

Felicity disconnected the call. She found Moira's photo on Oliver’s phone. She held it up for Anna to see.

“You know her, don't you?” Felicity asked.

“That's Mrs. Queen. She's my friend.” Anna said.

Oliver leaned towards Anna. “That's my Mommy. She's your grandma.

“Can I call her ‘Grandma’?” Anna asked.

“Yes and do you know Thea?” Oliver asked.

“Yes. She likes to color and she rides horses.” Anna said. “She's going to take me to ride horses when I get bigger.”

“Thea is my sister. That makes her your aunt.” Oliver said

“Wow.” Anna smiled. “Really?”

“Really.” Oliver said. He closed his eyes and took a moment to get his emotions under control.

Felicity kissed Oliver on the cheek. She whispered in his ear. “It’s okay. You’re home and you’re safe.”

Oliver pulled Felicity even tighter against him. His beautiful wife had been through so much. He knew he could never fully make up for all she had gone through. Even now she was giving him her strength.

“Felicity, thank you.” Oliver kissed her.

“Just being a good wife and mommy.” Felicity wiped a tear off his cheek.

-

It was early on a Saturday when Felicity picked up her ringing phone from the kitchen counter and frowned.

“Who is it? Is it your mom?” Oliver knew she was expecting a call from her mom about coming for the holidays.

“No. It’s Ginger.” Felicity answered the call. “Hi Ginger. Isn’t it super early in Keystone?”

“Yeah but I have been up all night. I have a job but I don’t have a place to stay. What’s worse is that I don’t have enough for a deposit anywhere. Jeff wouldn’t sign the papers without a cash incentive. I had to give him most of my get away money.”

“Um. I’m going to put you on speaker.” Felicity put the phone on speaker and sat it on the table. She sat down next to Oliver. “Okay. How much do you have left?”

“I have just enough to rent a trailer for my stuff and gas to get to Starling City. I may even have enough for food and things that we will need until I get paid.”

“How much do you need?” Oliver asked.

“Oh Oliver! Hi. That’s just it I can’t make a deposit on any place to live. I think I’ll be fine once my paychecks start but…”

Felicity looked over at Oliver. “Oliver and I were talking about you just last night. His mom wants us to move into the mansion until we find a house but I still have time on my lease. We were thinking that you could take over my lease. It isn’t up until September.

“That would help so much. How much is the rent?”

“Fifteen hundred but we can spot you a month.” Felicity looked at Oliver again and he nodded in agreement.

“I love you both and I will pay you back. I swear.”

“No need.” Oliver said. “We’re happy to help. We could probably leave you some of the furniture too. Felicity and I are definitely getting a new bed.”

“His feet hang off the bottom.” Felicity giggled.

“That would help too. All I have is a crib and changing table. I don’t know how you did this with just a crib mattress and a dozen boxes. I’m in a panic.”

“Just think of what’s best for the baby and you’ll calm down.” Felicity reassured her friend. “That’s what I did. When are you getting here?”

“It will be a week at least. I’ll have to stop a lot with the baby. He gets fussy if he has to sit too long then he gets car sick. He’s not like Anna. Aunt Donna said she was an angel when you moved.”

“Anna slept most of the way to Starling City. She was cranky for days after because it messed up her sleep pattern. Mom must have forgotten that part. I didn’t.” Felicity chuckled. “Anna was in the middle of a full blown crying fit when she met Oliver’s mom for the first time a few days after we got here. Yeah. That was not a great first impression of my mothering skills.”

“Mom never mentioned that.” Oliver laughed.

“She was wailing.” Felicity sighed. “Loudly!”

“I better get off here I think I hear the baby starting to wake up.”

“Is Aunt Louise coming out to help you?” Felicity asked.

“No. She can’t get away from work. I’ll be fine. I’ll call when we are getting close to meet you for the keys. I love you both. Thank you!”

“Bye Ginger.” Oliver smiled at Felicity.

“Bye.” Felicity said as the call disconnected. She looked at Oliver. “We’d better start packing.”

“I’ll call Mom and tell her we’re going to move in.” Oliver pulled his phone from his back pocket. “She is going to be thrilled.”

“Uh huh.” Felicity looked around and started to make plans in her head of what to pack and what to leave.

-

Oliver got out of the car and took a breath. It was the first time he was picking Anna up at school. He couldn’t believe how nervous he was. Any other father wouldn’t be but he was still on a steep learning curve with his little queen.

He walked up to the teacher stationed at the door. “I’m Oliver Queen. I’m here to pick up Anna Queen. Um. Anna Smoak.”

“Are you on her list Mr. Queen?” The teacher looked him up and down like he was dinner and she was starving.

“Yes. My wife and I went to the office and added me to her list. My mother was added at the same time.” Oliver started to turn his wedding ring on his finger. It was becoming his new nervous habit.

The teacher saw what he was doing and looked at her tablet. “I see you here. She picked up what looked like a walkie-talkie. “Anna Smoak.”

“Hi Jill.” Grace walked up with Melinda. She glanced at Oliver standing there. “Send our girls out too.”

The teacher nodded. “Katie Barret. Melody Hammond.”

“Hello Mr. Queen.” Grace said. “Are you here by yourself?”

“Felicity is making a presentation to the board tonight. Anna and I are going to meet her later after the meeting. You’re Grace and you must be Melinda. Felicity has mentioned you both. She said the girls were all in daycare together.” Oliver smiled politely.

“Yes. Katie said that Anna told her she was going to a new school.” Grace looked him in the eye. “Is that true?”

“We’re moving in with my family until we can find a house that we both like. Anna will be going to Starling Academy after Christmas break.” Oliver confirmed. “We can still arrange play dates and sleepovers. Thea used to have sleepovers in the ballroom with snacks, music and games.”

Grace looked at Melinda then back at Oliver. “We’ll let Felicity know.”

Anna and two other dark haired girls came out of the building with their backpacks.

“Daddy!” Anna ran up to him and held out her arms for a hug.

Oliver knelt down to her level and hugged her. “Did you have a good day?”

“Yes. See! I told you I had a daddy.” Anna made a face at Katie and Melody.

“Anna Olivia, don’t be rude. Apologize and introduce me to your friends nicely.” Oliver said in his ‘dad’ voice.

“I’m sorry. This is Katie and this is Melody.” Anna pointed to each girl then patted Oliver on the chest. “This is my daddy. His name is Oliver. He got found and now he lives with me and Mommy.”

“It’s nice to meet you, ladies. I’m always glad to meet friends of Anna’s.” He turned to Anna. “Anna, we have to go.”

“Are we going to get a milkshake?” Anna asked.

“We are going to get hamburgers and milkshakes. Mommy will be hungry after her meeting.” Oliver looked at his watch. “She’ll be done by the time we pick up dinner. Say goodbye to your friends before we go.”

“Daddy, you forgot to check my backpack.” Anna held it out to him.

“Oh right.” Oliver looked inside and made sure her lunch bag was inside. He checked the front pocket for any notes from her teacher. “There all checked.” He stood up and held out his hand for her to take.

“Bye Katie. Bye Melody.” Anna took Oliver’s hand and waved.

“Bye Anna.” Katie waved back.

Oliver walked with Anna to the car. He opened the door and put her in the seat belt.

“That can’t be the notorious party boy that I remember. He actually seems normal.” Grace frowned. “That island must have really changed him.”

“I don’t know. It all might be an act.” Melinda said. “I thought my husband was normal until his freaky mistress showed up. Come on Melody, we need to get home.”

Melody followed her mother to the car.

Grace took Katie’s hand and went to her minivan. She hoped Melinda was wrong for Felicity’s sake.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Felicity supervised the movers as they loaded the truck. She checked every box to make sure it was something that was going to storage and not to the mansion.

Oliver was loading those boxes into a van. They would take them over as soon as they were finished there.

Oliver sat down on the ground next to where she was standing when he was done. “I thought you had everything sorted out.”

“I know. I’m just double checking. I did the same for the boxes you put in the van.” Felicity looked at the van. “All packed?”

“Yeah. Are you sure you don’t want to take more of the furniture?” Oliver looked up at her with a grin.

“We decided that we are getting all new stuff.” Felicity looked down and realized he was teasing her. “Stop that!”

“It’s just that you took everything out of Anna’s room and nothing out of ours.” Oliver pulled at the dead grass in the yard.

“Ginger is bringing a crib and a changing table for the baby. That will take up the whole room. I didn’t even have a changing table and I thought it was crowded in there.” Felicity explained. “Besides, Anna picked out that bed when she stopped using diapers. I bought it new for her. It’s hers and she wants to bring it.”

Oliver smiled. “I wish I had been there for that. I missed so much with her.”

“Yeah, you did and it killed me every time she did something you should have been there for.” Felicity stopped a mover and checked the side of the box. “Okay. That one goes to storage.”

The mover looked at Oliver.

Oliver just shrugged and looked apologetic.

“I saw that, Mister.” Felicity glared down at him.

Oliver grinned and stood up. “I’ll check to see if they have it all.”

“I’ll call your mom and tell her that we’ll be there soon.” Felicity took out her phone and dialed Moira.

“Hello Felicity.” Moira’s voice answered.

“We are almost finished here. Is Anna behaving?”

“She and Thea are watching a princess movie. I’m glad you and Oliver decided to do this.”

“I hope you don’t think this is permanent. I know you wanted it to be but we will be getting a place of our own soon. We have an appointment to look at a house tomorrow.”

“You can stay for as long as you like. I’m just happy to have all of you under one roof even if it’s for a little while.”

“That was the last box,” Oliver said. “They are bringing the two tables you wanted now.”

“Don’t look at me like that. Mom bought that hall table for me when she saw the place for the first time and the other one is where we set up the menorah every year.” Felicity explained. “I bought that one new. Everything else is from the thrift store.”

“Oh I forgot you are Jewish. Is there something we have to do special for that?” Moira asked.

“No not until Hanukkah. Anna and I will teach you everything about it.” Felicity watched the movers come out of the hose with the tables and load them onto the truck.

Oliver raised an eyebrow. He leaned over so he could be heard on the phone. “Mom, we are going to be there soon. They are loading the tables now.”

“I’ll get off here so we can get in the van. Oliver is driving me crazy with his impatience.” Felicity glared at him.  

Oliver laughed and headed for the van.

“We will be waiting.” Moira disconnected the call.

Felicity put her phone back in her pocket and got in the van. “This is so weird. I can’t believe we are moving in with your mom.”

Oliver started the van. “Weird is not the word for it, Felicity.”

That night, Anna came into their room and climbed into bed. Oliver pulled the covers over her and cuddled her.

“Anna? What are you doing in here? Did you have a bad dream?” Oliver whispered.

“No. My room is too big. Fred got scared.” Anna looked up at him from his shoulder. She was holding Fred’s head just above the covers.

Oliver nodded. “Go to sleep, Anna. You too, Fred. Everything is okay.”

Felicity mumbled something that sounded tech related in her sleep and reached over to rub Anna’s back. “Go to sleep, Baby.”

Moira went to check on Anna a little while later. She found the door open so she went to see if she was with Oliver and Felicity. She looked through the open door and her heart swelled.

Oliver was asleep on his back with Anna and Felicity snuggled up with their heads on his shoulders. They were the perfect little family.

Moira closed the door and went to bed.

-

Felicity got the call from Ginger at five in the morning. Ginger was about fifty miles out from Starling City. She woke up Oliver and they got dressed.

Felicity left a note for Moira to take Anna to school if they weren’t back in time. They drove to the townhouse and unlocked the front door. Oliver turned on the heat and they waited for Ginger to get there.

Ginger finally drove up and she got out of the car. She was uncharacteristically dressed in jeans and a baggy sweatshirt under her coat. Her long red hair was in a braid down her back. She looked back at the trailer she had been hauling and winced. She was still out in the street a little too much.

“Leave it. It’s fine.” Felicity said as she came out the front door. “Come inside. It’s too cold for the baby out here.”

Ginger took the baby out of the car seat and brought him inside. He had fallen asleep about twenty miles before they got there. She went inside and looked around.

“I thought you had moved out already. It doesn’t look like you’ve taken anything out of here.” Ginger looked at Felicity.

“She did.” Oliver sat on the arm of the sofa. “We just left you some furniture.”

“I left some dishes too.” Felicity said. “Come in and sit down. Is he asleep?”

“He just fell asleep.” Ginger handed the baby to Oliver and took off her coat. “Ew! It’s a little chilly in here. I think I’ll wait to take off his coat.”

Oliver looked down at the little boy in his arms. “Felicity I want one of these too.”

“I bet you do.” Felicity laughed.

Ginger looked at Oliver holding her son. “You want another one?”

“We’ve been working on it. No luck yet.” Felicity went over and looked at the baby.

“So everything is okay with you two?” Ginger asked.

“Yeah.” Oliver smiled. “Sorry your marriage didn’t work out.”

“I should have never married that idiot but I wanted to have what Felicity had with you before you died.” Ginger sighed. “I didn’t find it.”

“I never knew that.” Felicity looked at her friend. “What Oliver and I have is rare. Most relationships take time to develop to the point that we were before the accident.” 

“Maybe, I will get another chance at love here in Starling City.” Ginger shrugged. “It can’t be any worse.”

“That’s true. Here are the keys.” Felicity handed her a set of keys. “When do you start work?”

“Not for a couple days.” Ginger looked at the baby. “I’m going to need to find a sitter.”

“Maria next door will watch him but you have to pay her in cash.” Felicity told her. “I used her on the weekends sometimes. You need to check out some daycares near where you are working.”

“I have a few to look at. I went on line for some names when I found out I got the job.” Ginger said.

“Do you need any cash until you get paid?” Oliver asked. “He looked down at the baby. He is gonna need to eat. He’s a big guy. He probably eats a lot.”

“Oliver, if you ask her she will say ‘no’.” Felicity put her hand in Oliver’s back pocket and pulled out his money clip. She took several hundred dollars out and held it out to Ginger. “Here take this.”

“I can’t. You have done too much already.” Ginger shook her head.

Felicity put the money clip back in Oliver’s pocket and took the cash and put it in Ginger’s hand. “We insist.”

“If you insist, I guess I have to take it.” Ginger put the cash in her pocket then reached out for the baby and Oliver reluctantly handed him over.

“You two better get busy. He almost didn’t give him back to me.” Ginger teased them.

“I know. I saw that too.” Felicity leaned against Oliver. She kissed him on the cheek. “We better go. There are sheets on the bed. If you need help unpacking just give me a call. We better go make sure Grandma isn’t letting Anna skip school today.”

“She only did that once.” Oliver looked up at Felicity. “Anna said she had a tummy ache.”

“Uh huh.” Felicity took him by the hand. “See you later, Ginger and welcome to Starling City.”

“Bye.” Ginger waved as Oliver and Felicity left her and the baby alone in the townhouse.

Ginger sat on the sofa and rocked the baby. “We’re home. It’s going to be okay, Tommy. Mommy promises.”

-

Ginger had just finished the mountain of paperwork for her new job. It was nearly noon when she put her box of personal items on the only empty desk she could find. She took out a framed photo of her little boy and put it on her desk. She looked around. It wasn’t the high priced law firm she was hoping for but it was a job. At least here at CNRI, she would be doing some good in the community.

“Hi! I’m Joanna. You must be Mari Ann. We heard you were coming today.” Joanna de la Vega held out her hand to ginger.

“Yeah. That’s me. I hope it’s okay that I set up here. It seems to be the only desk left.” Ginger looked around again.

“Yeah. It’s fine. I’m on the other side of the divider and Laurel is across from me.  She’s on a call. Her sister has been missing for three years and they may have a lead.” Joanna looked over at Laurel to see if she was off the call yet.

“My best friend’s husband was missing for five years. He just came home a few weeks ago.” Ginger smiled. “There’s always hope.”

“She must be very happy he’s home. Laurel’s sister, Sara went backpacking in Tibet and she hasn’t been seen since.” Joanna glanced again at the woman on the phone. “It doesn’t look like it’s going well.”

Laurel slammed down the phone and groaned. “Unbelievable!”

“Laurel, this is Mari Ann. She’s the new lawyer from Keystone that we were expecting.” Joanna motioned to Ginger.

“Hi.” Laurel smiled. “They found a body but it turned out to be a man. I don’t think my parents can take much more of this.”

“Sorry to hear about your sister. Don’t give up hope. Miracles happen.” Ginger smiled.

“Thanks but I don’t really believe in miracles.” Laurel sighed. “Have you found a place to live yet?”

“Yes. I’m taking over my friends lease. She and her husband are moving in with her mother in law until they buy a bigger house. I think she’s crazy but she gets along with her mother in law. I never got along with my ex-husband’s mom. It’s one of the many reasons that he is now my ex-husband.” Ginger laughed.

“I grew up here. I can’t imagine ever moving away from my family.” Laurel sighed. “I don’t know if I ever could.”

“I’m originally from Las Vegas. You would get used to being away from your family after a while. I had to get used to it when I went to Penn state.” Ginger paused. “It just takes longer for some people than others.”

“I guess so.” Laurel looked at her watch. “I have a lunch date and he’s late as usual.”

“Give him five more minutes then come out with me.” Joanna turned to Ginger. “You come too, Mari Ann. We need to get to know the new girl. Don’t we, Laurel?”

“Yeah.” Laurel smiled. She caught sight of someone at the door. “There he is. I guess I have to give you two a raincheck.”

“Hey girls!” Tommy strolled up to the three of them.

Ginger turned around and smiled. “Tommy Merlyn! I was wondering when I was going to see you.”

“Ginger! You look great.” Tommy checked out the tight gray dress before he gave her a hug. “I heard you were coming to town. Have you settled in?”

“Yeah. The place is a little small but there’s only the two of us.” Ginger picked up the photo on her desk. “Oh! I want to show you my little gingersnap. This is my little Tommy.”

“He’s a lady killer already.” Tommy looked at the photo. “Have you taught him how to count cards yet?”

“Sh! That’s our little secret. Remember?” Ginger laughed.

“Excuse me. How do you know each other?” Laurel asked.

“My best friend, Felicity is married to Tommy’s best friend, Oliver. We were witnesses at their wedding.” Ginger chuckled.

“When was this?” Laurel asked. She looked straight at Tommy expecting him to answer.

“About five years ago in Las Vegas. They had a honeymoon then he got shipwrecked on some island. He was just found a few weeks ago.” Ginger frowned. “Do you know Oliver too?”

“I used to date Oliver.” Laurel glared at Tommy.

“Oh!” Ginger looked at Tommy then back at Laurel. “You’re _that_ Laurel. Wow!”

“I can’t believe Oliver got married and you didn’t tell me, Tommy.” Laurel was angry and it showed. “Where was she when we had his memorial service?”

“MIT.” Ginger said. “She was waiting for Oliver to come to her after he got back from China with his dad. I was the one that told her that the boat went down. Tommy, she called you when she found out he was lost, didn’t she?”

“Yeah. She did.” Tommy confirmed. “I offered to come and get her but she wouldn’t come.”

“He is getting a divorce from the gold digging tramp, isn’t he?” Laurel looked at Tommy.

Tommy looked at the floor.

“Tommy!” Laurel voice rose enough to get everyone staring in their direction.

“No. They aren’t. They’re back together and their trying to have another baby.” Ginger didn’t care how mad Laurel was she wouldn’t let her talk like that about Felicity.

“Another baby?” Laurel looked at Ginger.

“They have a daughter named Anna. Oliver’s mom dotes on her.” Ginger looked at Laurel. “What do you care if Oliver and Felicity are together?”

“He was my boyfriend when he left for Las Vegas.” Laurel said.

“You’re mad because my friend stole your boyfriend and married him? Five years ago?” Ginger sighed. “Okay but didn’t he cheat on you constantly? Why would you want him back?”

Laurel pushed by Ginger and Tommy and left.

Ginger looked at Tommy. “Is she for real?”

Tommy shrugged. “I think she may still have feeling for Oliver.

Ginger raised an eyebrow at that. “If Laurel thinks that Felicity is going to be easy to get rid of, she’s seriously crazy. Felicity has gone through too much to just walk away from her husband.”     

“I know.” Tommy shook his head.

Joanna looked at Tommy and Ginger and sat down on the edge of the desk in shock.

-

“I'm here to see Mrs. Queen. Laurel said to Raisa when she opened the door.

“Mrs. Queen is in the sitting room, Miss Lance.” Raisa smiled and let Laurel pass.

Laurel stormed into the room. “You need to do something about that gold digging tramp. She’s got to go.”

Felicity turned on the sofa and looked at Laurel. “What gold digging tramp are you referring to?”

“Who the hell are you?” Laurel asked. “I was looking for Mrs. Queen. The housekeeper said she was in here.”

“I'm Felicity Queen. Oliver's wife. So I guess that makes me Mrs. Queen.” Felicity stood up and faced Laurel. “So are you going to tell me who you are talking about?”

“Where is Moira?” Laurel asked. She looked Felicity up and down with a judgmental look on her face.

“So I’m going to assume that you’re talking about me then.” Felicity said. “Just say whatever you are going to say. I know you want to have it out with me. I can see it in your face.”

“I'm not going to let you hurt Ollie and his family. You need to get your ass back to the Las Vegas brothel you came from.” Laurel said.

“Brothel? They're called Cat Houses and I have never been to one.” Felicity said. “You must be Laurel. You are sleeping with Tommy Merlyn. Why do you care who Oliver is with?”

“I love Ollie. He’s my friend.” Laurel said. “You don't even know him. You're just in it for the money.”

“I am not.” Felicity said. “Now from what I have heard of you …”

“He’s just going to cheat on, you like he did me. He’s never going to change, you know.” Laurel interrupted.

“He has changed a lot. You don’t even know who he is now.” Felicity said “Stop thinking of him as the boy he used to be and start seeing him for the man he is trying to be.”  

Oliver walked into the room. “What's going on? Felicity, are you okay?”

Felicity turned to Oliver. “She thinks that I'm a gold digging tramp and I'm only in this for the money. She told me to go back to the brothel I came from.”

“Did she?” Oliver said as he stepped into the room. “Laurel, get out. Don't come back until you can show my wife some respect.”

“Your wife? Really Ollie?” Laurel rolled her eyes at him.

“Daddy!” Anna came running into the room with a book. “Daddy, come read with me. You promised.”

“We'll read in just a minute.” Oliver said as he scooped Anna up in his arms.

“So that is how she hooked you.” Laurel looked at Oliver and folded her arms. “Are you sure that kid's yours?”

“Yes he is.” Moira said as she walked in the room. “And so am I.”

“You have to be kidding.” Laurel said.

“Oliver, take Anna upstairs.” Felicity said. “It’s nap time. Go ahead. Your mom and I can handle her.”

“Come on Anna.” Oliver looked at the book she was holding. “Let's go read about the hungry hippo.”

Felicity watched as Oliver and Anna left. She looked at Moira and waited until Oliver and Anna were up the stairs. Felicity turned to Laurel and practically snarled. “Don’t you ever say anything like you just did in front of my daughter again. She is innocent and has nothing to do with all of this.” 

“Laurel, you need to leave.” Moira said.

“Do you even know her?” Laurel asked. “Did she just show up here after he came back?”

“No. I've been here for three years.” Felicity turned to Laurel. “Moira has been a grandmother to Anna and a friend to me. I am IT tech at Queen Consolidated. I am not a gold digging tramp but I am Oliver’s wife and that baby’s mother.”

Laurel looked at Moira. “You are okay with this?”

“I am more than okay with this. Felicity and Anna are part of this family. I think you should apologize then get out of our home.” Moira said coldly.

“Apologize? I'm never going to apologize to her.” Laurel said.

“Why? Because I married your boyfriend? I loved him then and I love him now. I listen to him. I give him what he needs, love, support, whatever.” Felicity said. “You never loved him. You pushed him to do what you wanted without asking what he wanted. You’re the one that sounds like a gold digging tramp.”

“You can't speak to me like that.” Laurel said angrily.

“I just did. Now get out before I get the urge to accidentally erase you from the world. I went to MIT and I graduated with two masters degrees at nineteen. I am a genius.” Felicity shrugged. “Erasing you. I can do that in my sleep.”

“Everything she just said is true.” Moira smiled. “I suggest you leave quickly.”

Laurel rushed out and slammed the front door.

“Did I overstep?” Felicity sat back down on the sofa.

“No. I'm proud of you for standing your ground with her.” Moira said. “Oliver chose well. I have thought that since the moment I met you.”

Felicity looked surprised. “I would have done it too if she hadn’t left.”

“I know.” Moira said. “I would have let you use the company servers to do it after what she said about Anna in front of her.”

Felicity sighed. “I can see why Oliver wanted to get away from her. She’s a little nuts.”

“It’s my fault really. I used to want him to settle down. Laurel wanted the same thing so I encouraged her. Now I see that I was wrong to do that. Oliver chose the right one for him in his own time.” Moira smiled at Felicity and walked out of the room.    


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Oliver and Felicity decided to wait until everything was in place before they brought Anna to her new home. Felicity especially wanted everything painted and scrubbed first. It took a few more days for all the new furniture to be delivered and the things from storage to be brought in.

Anna came through the door clutching Fred and holding Oliver’s hand. “Is this our new house, Daddy?”

“Yes. Do you want to see your room?” Oliver knelt down and smiled at his little queen.

“Uh huh.” Anna nodded. “Is Fred going to like it?”

“I think you’re both going to like it.” Oliver scooped her up in his arms and started up the stairs. “Felicity! We’re here!

“I’m in our bedroom. Be there in a minute.” Felicity called out from somewhere down the hall.

Oliver took Anna to an open door and put her down. “Here you are.”

Anna looked up at him then tentatively pushed the door the rest of the way open. She gasped. “It’s purple!”

“It’s the color you and Mommy picked out.” Oliver reminded her.

Anna sat on her bed and looked around. “Look Fred, all of our stuff is here.”

Oliver smiled he pointed to a corner of the room. “Mommy and I added a few things.”

Anna looked around and saw the easel in the corner and a desk beside it. She put Fred on the pillow and went over to look at them. “Cool!”

“Good call, Daddy.” Felicity patted Oliver on the shoulder. “Anna, what do you think? Do you like your room?”

“Yes!” Anna walked into the middle of the room and twirled around. “I love it.”

Oliver laughed. “Easy now! You’ll get dizzy.”

“Anna, Daddy hasn’t seen our room yet. Why don’t you come help me show it to him? Felicity asked.

“Okay.” Anna ran over and grabbed Oliver’s hand. “Come on, Daddy.”

Felicity led them down the hall and she opened a door at the very end.

Oliver walked in and looked around. “This is beautiful.”

There were roses in a vase by the bed. It was decorated in red and gray with accents of black. There was a red sofa along one wall with the fan from china over it and a black lacquer coffee table in front of it. The large bed had a rose covered duvet on it..

There was a loud knock on the front door.

“That must be Mom and Ginger. They were going to get a few things I forgot to pick up.” Felicity went to leave but Oliver grabbed her hand. She looked at him questioningly.

“This is perfect. Thank you for doing this for us.” Oliver rubbed his thumb over her knuckles then kissed her on the cheek.

Felicity smiled and pointed to the door. “I have to get that before Mom thinks we are up to something.”

“We’re married, Felicity. We are always up to something.” Oliver said as he let go of her hand.

Felicity went downstairs and opened the door. She found not just her mom and Ginger but Tommy Merlyn too. All three had their hands full.

“Let us in before we drop something.” Donna pushed in. she took the bags to the living room and plopped down on the sofa.

“I brought food.” Tommy said as he walked in. he put the bags on the coffee table and sat in one of the wing chairs.

Ginger handed her the baby and went to sit next to Donna on the sofa. “My feet hurt.”

Oliver came down the stairs with Anna. He smiled as he saw Felicity bouncing the baby in her arms.

Anna ran into the living room and got up on the sofa next to Donna. “Bubbe! My room is purple.”

“I know. I helped Mommy put your toys on the shelves.” Donna looked up at Oliver and Felicity. “Did he like your room?”

“I loved it.” Oliver smiled. “She outdid herself. Hey Tommy! What did you bring?

“Big Belly Burgers and fries. I didn’t know if you two had ordered food or not so I thought I would pick something up on the way over.” Tommy looked around. “This is a nice place. It’s bigger than the other one.”

“I’m starving.” Felicity handed off the baby to Tommy and looked in the bags on the coffee table.             

Tommy looked like she had handed him a ticking bomb. “Um… Felicity? Ginger?

Ginger shook her head. “He’s all yours, Buddy.”

“What’s the matter Uncle Tommy?” Anna asked as she saw the look on Tommy’s face. “He won’t bite you. He only bit someone once. It was a mean big kid in daycare because he was teasing him.”

Oliver chuckled. He reached down and took the baby from Tommy. “Hey Buddy. Want a fry?” He stole one from Felicity as she walked past to the kitchen to get plates.

“Hey! Don’t give him that he’ll make a mess. Where’s your high chair, Felicity?” Ginger called out.

“I don’t have one.” Felicity came back with the plates. “I never had one. Take his coat off before he gets food all over it, Oliver.”

“So when am I getting a grandson?” Donna took the plate Felicity handed her.

“Working on it, Donna.” Oliver said as he took the baby’s coat off of him.

“All you had to do the first time was look at her the right way.” Donna unwrapped a burger.

“Mom, we’re eating. We will talk about it later.” Felicity decided to change the subject. “How’s work, Ginger?”

“Horrible but I may be getting a new job. There is a law firm in the Heights that have made me an offer after I won a case against them. I think I’m going to take it. It’s more money.” Ginger reached for a burger.

“Sorry about Laurel.” Oliver took a breath. “She must be making you uncomfortable.”

“She was until I told her I would take her out in the alley and handle her attitude like we do in Vegas. She backed off then.” Ginger laughed. “Tommy is the one you should worry about she won’t even take his calls.”

“Uncle Tommy, you should just marry Aunt Ginger.” Anna said as she dipped a fry in ketchup.

“The queen has spoken.” Oliver laughed.

Tommy and Ginger looked at each other and then down at their plates.

“Way to make them uncomfortable, Oliver.” Felicity waved a fry at him.

“Speaking of jobs are you taking that job at QC, Oliver?” Tommy asked.

“Yeah I’m going to see Mom on Monday. She called me in for a meeting. After the board made Felicity the head of the IT department, she’s been pushing it even harder.” Oliver looked over at Felicity with pride in his eyes.

“I was only supposed to present the proposal to replace the servers. I never expected they would do that. Now, I have to arrange updated training for everyone.” Felicity dipped a fry in Anna’s ketchup. “Not everyone is happy about the change. Mr. Mitchell told me he was going to retire so he wouldn’t have to work for me.”

“Hey!” Anna looked up at Felicity.     

“He can’t handle your genius, Baby. That’s all that is.” Donna looked up at Oliver. “Isn’t that right, Oliver?”

“That is it exactly.” Oliver gave the baby another fry.

“Oliver, you need to eat too.” Felicity reminded him. She knew he hadn’t had anything since breakfast and then he only had a slice of toast.

“I will when someone is ready to take the little guy.” Oliver smiled. “I promise.”

Felicity looked at him with little Tommy and hoped they would have news soon.  

-

Late Monday afternoon, Oliver knocked on the door of Moira’s office. “Hi Mom. You wanted to see me?”

“Yes. Moira closed the file on her desk. “You have been home for a while now and things have settled down. I was wondering if you have thought more about taking the position that Walter and I offered you.”

“Felicity and I have talked about it and we both think it would be a good idea. This company needs every Queen it can get to be successful in the future.” Oliver waited for her to respond.

“I agree.” Moira smiled. “How is the new house? I miss having the three of you at the house already.”

“Felicity has had me painting rooms the rest of the rooms. Anna’s room is a light purple and our room is something called ‘dove gray’.” Oliver shrugged. “Honestly, it just looks white to me.”

“Did she put roses in your bedroom?” Moira asked. “I remember you two were having a discussion about an overabundance of roses in your room at the townhouse.”

“I was just giving her a hard time.” Oliver grinned. “I like the roses. It reminds me of the chapel where we got married. Marrying her was an uncharacteristically good decision on my part.”   

“I am so glad it worked out for you both. Any news on that second grandchild?” Moira smirked at him.

“No Mom. Not yet.” Oliver sat down on the chair by her desk. “We are working on it. It takes time, apparently.”

“How is Anna doing at her new school?” Moira asked.

“She misses her friends but she is doing great. Her teacher says she is the brightest student she has had in years. She seemed surprised that she was my daughter.” Oliver chuckled. “I think I had a one night stand with her sister or something.”

Moira looked disapprovingly at him. “You knew those days would catch up with you eventually. What did Felicity think when she heard that?”

“She just patted me on the chest and laughed. She knows I had a past and she knows that I’m not that stupid boy anymore.” Oliver turned his wedding ring on his finger. “I’m her husband and I will never jeopardize our marriage by being that idiot again.” 

“I’m glad you have finally matured.” Moira smiled. “Your father never did.”

“I know that Dad was not the perfect husband, Mom.” Oliver looked up. “I’m trying to do better for my girls.”

“I’m sure you will.” Moira looked at him. He wasn’t that boy that got on the boat with Robert any more. He was a responsible adult. 

“I better go.” Oliver stood up. “I’m picking up Anna at school and we are going for milkshakes and a romp at our favorite playground.”

“Give her a kiss for me.” Moira picked up a file. “I will see you on Monday morning. Don’t be late.”

“Oh! I almost forgot. Anna wants to stay overnight at Grandma’s house this weekend.” Oliver leaned on the chair. “What do you say?”

“I would love it. Tell her we’ll go see the new movie she’s been talking about.” Moira leaned on her desk. “We may do a little shopping too.”

Oliver laughed. “Not too much. Her closet isn’t that big at the new house.”

“You know, she should have some of her things at my house for her overnights.” Moira suggested. “Just some pajamas and a few outfits.”

“I’ll tell Felicity. See you later, Mom.” Oliver waved and left his mother to her work to do.  

-

It took a few weeks for Oliver to settle in to his new job. He had a few problems adjusting to the routine but he had finally hit his stride.

Almost a month into his new job, he was sitting on the sofa looking over some files while he was keeping an eye on Anna late that afternoon.

Anna was sitting on a pillow on the floor coloring in her coloring book at the coffee table between the sofas. There were crayons and a glass of soda on the table.

“Mr. Queen, I see you and your special assistant have been working hard.” Felicity said as she entered Oliver’s new office carrying a file.

Anna looked up when Felicity walked in. “Hi Mommy. I’m helping Daddy work.”

Oliver smiled where he was sitting on the sofa. “Ms. Queen and I had a long meeting on the cost effectiveness of a nap and we haven’t come to an agreement.”

“I see.” Felicity sat down on the sofa next to Oliver. “Maybe, you shouldn’t have given her a soda.”

“Daddy let me have a candy bar too.” Anna tattled as she colored.

“And you wonder why she isn’t taking a nap?” Felicity looked at him. She slapped him on the chest with the file in her hand. “I thought you knew better.”

“She gave me that look. You know the one. I couldn’t say ‘no’.” Oliver gave her the same look he was speaking of.

“Yeah. That’s the look right there. She got that from you.” Felicity sighed. “Here is the installation report for the new servers.”

“You could have sent someone up with it you didn’t have to bring it yourself.” Oliver took the file from her and looked inside.

“I had an ulterior motive. I wanted to see if she was taking a nap.” Felicity looked down at Anna.   

Anna took a drink of soda. “I’m not taking a nap. I’m working with Daddy.”

“I may have no choice but to take matters in my own hands.” Felicity picked up the glass and smelled it. She took a sip. “Soda water?”

“Yes and it was a granola bar not a candy bar. It did have chocolate on it.” Oliver pouted. “Forgive me.”

Felicity sighed. “Okay but she needs a nap.”

“Anna, we need to take break or Mommy with put us both in time out.” Oliver sat back on the sofa and put the files down beside him. “Come up here and sit on my lap.”

Anna put down her crayon and got up. “I’m not tired.”

“I know but Mommy said you need a nap and she’s the boss.” Oliver held out her arms.

“Okay.” Anna sighed dramatically. She climbed up on Oliver’s lap and put her head on his chest.

Oliver rubbed Anna’s back. “Close those pretty eyes.”

Anna sighed and closed her eyes.

Felicity smiled and she kissed Oliver on the cheek. “Now that’s handled, I should get back to the IT department.”

“Not yet.” Oliver grabbed her hand and pulled her closer. “You need to take a break too. You’ve been working nonstop since the board approved your proposal and made you head of the IT department.”

Felicity put her head on his shoulder. “I think I can take a moment for you and Anna. Thanks to you, I have everything I want and the time to cherish it.”

Oliver leaned his head on hers. “Who knew that we would be here when we got married five years ago?”

“To think, I didn’t even want to go out that night.” Felicity said. “I took a leap of faith with you. I let my heart tell me what to do. It just proves that I should listen to my heart more than my head sometimes.”

Anna started to snore softly. Felicity and Oliver looked at her and kissed.

“Marrying you was the best crazy thing I have ever done.” Oliver said.

“Good, because I’m pregnant. “ Felicity watched his face light up.

“Finally!” Oliver leaned over and kissed her.

“I was thinking we should name him Robert.” Felicity said.

“I can’t wait to meet him.” Oliver grinned. Then his face changed. “What if it’s another girl? What will we name her?”

“We have to have a meeting on that, Mr. Queen. “ Felicity gave him an impish grin.

**Author's Note:**

> [Before and After Digital Paintings for "Honey" by panesgrey](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4657113)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Honey Artwork](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4657113) by [paynesgrey](https://archiveofourown.org/users/paynesgrey/pseuds/paynesgrey)




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